I am intended to prepare doped titania using sol-gel method. I followed the steps described in a journal article. Nevertheless, I could not get the transparent sol as mentioned in the article. I am just wondering if the sol has to be transparent? Why will it be transparent and what will happen if it does not turn transparent?
If you started with a solution of titanium isopropoxide in alcohol you will get transparent sol, however, if there is H2O in the alcohol or the lab environment the "sol" will be turbid, this is because of the hydration and formation of gel.
By my experience, the gels that are not transparent usually turns into powder after any kind of drying. The reason is that your reactions is going so fast, that your sol gives a fragile structure to the gel with bigger agglomerates (if you intend to work with powder, just fine, use the sonic bath to disperse it). If you intend to produce monolithic materials, than you might consider lowering the amount of water/acid.
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