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Sol-gel technique: A veritable tool for crystal growth

Don Okpala V. Uche.

This paper looks at the applications of sol-gel deposition technique to crystals growth. Sol gel technique which is one of the oldest methods of crystal growth is defined as a wet-chemical technique widely used in the fields of materials science and ceramic engineering. It is used primarily for the fabrication of materials starting from a colloidal solution (sol) that acts as the precursor for an integrated network or gel of either discrete particles or network polymers. It makes use of cheap and available materials. It can be used in ceramics processing and manufacturing as an investment casting material, or as a means of producing very thin films of metal oxides for various purposes. Sol-gel derived materials have diverse applications in optics, electronics, energy, space, (bio)sensors, medicine e.g., controlled drug release, reactive material and separation e.g., chromatography technology