Reaction Kinetics for the Hydrolysis of Titanium Isopropoxide Carboxylate Complexes

ABSTRACTTitanium alkoxides modified by carboxylic acids have been widely studied as the molecular precursors to ceramic materials. These alkoxide complexes have also been very useful in the formation of stable, porous, optically clear films having many novel applications such as chemical sensors, catalytic supports, and ion-exchange media. To improve the processing of these materials, it is essential to better understand the kinetics of the chemical transformations which occur.The kinetics of the hydrolysis reaction are studied for selected carboxylic acids using Raman spectroscopy to probe the chemistry of the process. The study has a special emphasis on the titanium isopropoxide-valeric acid system due to the superior quality of these films over other carboxylates. Greater knowledge of the hydrolysis kinetics allows increased control over the quality of the film materials and should be of general interest to those working with modified metal alkoxides.