CONTEXT

The sol-gel process is well known in the prior art, simple to implement, takes place under mild conditions and facilitates the shaping of materials.

In a standard fashion, the sol-gel process consists of a hydrolysis and condensation process which, starting with a molecular precursor (true solution) leads to the formation of a colloidal solution (or sol) then, by connection of the colloidal particles, to the formation of a continuous solid skeleton named a gel.

The non-hydrolytic sol-gel process is a particular case of a sol-gel process, taking place in the absence of water. Another notable particular case consists of a sol-gel process for obtaining silica gels by using formic acid (formation of water in situ) (Sharp, 1994; Dai, 2000).

Ionic Liquids have remarkable properties such as zero volatility, a high ionic conductivity as well as catalytic properties. They are currently used in numerous fields, in particular as electrolytes.

Inventors have decided to combine properties of silica gels and ionic liquids.