This comprehensive three-volume handbook brings together a review of the current state together
with the latest developments in sol-gel technology to put forward new ideas. The first volume
dedicated to synthesis and shaping gives an in-depth overview of the wet-chemical processes
that constitute the core of the sol-gel method and presents the various pathways for the
successful synthesis of inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic materials bio- and bio-inspired
materials powders particles and fibers as well as sol-gel derived thin films coatings and
surfaces. The second volume deals with the mechanical optical electrical and magnetic
properties of sol-gel derived materials and the methods for their characterization such as
diffraction methods and nuclear magnetic resonance infrared and Raman spectroscopies. The
third volume concentrates on the various applications in the fields of membrane science
catalysis energy research biomaterials science biomedicine photonics and electronics.
