Structure and texture of heat-treated lithium borosilicate xerogel

Monolithic and transparent lithium borosilicate gels were obtained by using a cationic surfactant. The textural and structural properties of the pyrolysed xerogel at different temperatures were studied by IR, DTA–TG, X-ray, SEM and BET techniques. The obtained results show that the samples remain amorphous and mesoporous when the samples were heat treated below 600 °C. It is interesting to notice that Li+ does not establish a bond with the borosilicate network in this range temperature. Above this temperature, the crystallinity starts associated with the largest decreases of specific surface area and pore volume.