Hybrid glass-like films through sol-gel techniques

Since the time sol-gel was suggested as a nonmelting technique for the preparation of glasses, an enormous amount of work has been done, moving from the more traditional glasses to new materials. Among these, hybrid organic-inorganic materials are of particular interest, not only for the amount of the applications they may be used for, but also because of their structural characteristics: hybrids are a mix, at molecular level, of inorganic and organic moieties, where the organic ones may be simply dissolved in the matrix or behave as network former or modifier. The most recent results on the synthesis of this type of films, obtained by the author and co-workers, will be presented and discussed. In particular, the focus will be on the possibility to control the structural development by acting on the organic and inorganic polymerization separately and the challenges that this approach offers. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.