Preparation and spectroscopy of aluminosilicate films deposited on graphite surfaces via an anhydrous sol-gel route

Anhydrous aluminosilicate sols with Al:Si molar ratio ranging from 1:10 to 1:5 were prepared by a two-step anhydrous sol-gel process, in which tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) is pre-hydrolysed by formic acid, followed by addition of aluminium ethoxide. Unlike the case of aqueous sol-gel routes, where the Si-O-Al network homogeneity is greatly restricted by precipitation of Al(OH)₃, this anhydrous route yields clear, homogeneous sols. The sol formation and densification processes were investigated by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) techniques, and the existence of Al-O-Si linkages was confirmed. To demonstrate an application of the anhydrous sol-gel process, aluminosilicate films were deposited onto graphite surfaces by dip coating and densified at 800°C under nitrogen, and their protective effect was evaluated.