United  States  Patent  [19J  Wautier  et  al.  [11]  Patent  Number:  4,853,207  [45]  Date  of  Patent:  Aug.  1,  1989  [54]  PROCESS  FOR THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  VITREOUS  METAL OXIDES  [75]  Inventors:  Henri Wautier,  Braine-le-Comte;  Franz Legrand,  Quaregnon;  Luc  Lerot,  Brussels,  all of  Belgium  [73]  Assignee:  Solvay  &  Cie (Societe  ,  Brussels,  Belgium  [21]  Appl.  No.:  16,373  [22]  Filed:  Feb. 19, 1987  [51]  Int. CI. 4  ..............................................  corn  13/14  [52]  U.S. CI . ....................................  423/592;  423/593;  423/594;423/595;423/596;  423/598;423/599;  423/600;423/604;423/605;423/606;423/607;  423/608;  423/610;  423/617;  423/618;  423/619;  423/622;  423/630;  423/635;  423/641;  501/12  [58]  Field of Search  ...............  423/592,  604, 605,  606,  423/608,  617, 618,  630, 635,  593, 594,  595, 598,  600, 607,  609, 610,  619, 622,  596, 599,  641;  501/12  [30]  Foreign Application  Priority Data  [56]  References  Cited  U.S.  PATENT  DOCUMENTS  FOREIGN  PATENT  DOCUMENTS  OTHER  PUBLICATIONS  [57]  ABSTRACT  12  Claims, No  Drawings  3,394,990  7/1968  Weingaerther  et al.  ............ 423/630  3,944,658  3/1976  Yoldas  .................................  423/630  4,275,052  6/1981  Ryu  .....................................  423/628  4,387,085  6/1983  Fanelli  et al  ........................  423/630  4,532,072  7/1985  Segal  ...................................  423/630  4,543,341  9/1985  Barringer  et al  .......................  501/1  0072995  8/1981  European  Pat. Off  .............  423/630  1053481  3/1959  Fed. Rep.  of  Germany  ......  423/630  1201794  1/1960  France  ................................  423/630  827392  2/1960  United Kingdom  ................  423/630  843356  4/1960  United Kingdom  ................  423/630  Feb. 24,  1986 [FR]  France  ................................  86 02618  Process  for the  manufacture  of  vitreous  metal oxides  in  which  a  metal  alcoholate  derived  from an  alcohol,  the  pka of which  is less than  15.74,  is  hydrolysed  with an  aqueous  medium,  the pH  of  which  is  greater  than 1.5.  The process  is  applied  especially  to the  manufacture  of  vitreous  zirconium  oxide.  Primary  Examiner-Robert  L.  Stoll  Assistant  Examiner-Paige  C.  Harvey  Attorney,  Agent,  or  Firm-Spencer  &  Frank  The  Condensed  Chemical  Dictionary  9th  edition,  Haw› ley, Van  Nostrand  Reinhold  Company,  NY, 1977,  p.  662.  Huber,  W.,  Titrations  in  Nonaqueous  Solvents,  Academic  Press, (1967),  p. 220.  S.  R.  Gurkovich  &  J.  B.  Blum,  "Crystallization  of  Amorphous  Lead-Titante  Prepared  by a  Sol-Gel  Pro› cess",  Ferroelectrics,  vol. 62,  (1985),  pp.  189-194.  S.  Sakka,  "Gel Method  for  Making  Glass",  Treatise  on  Materials  Science  and  Technology,  vol. 22,  (1982),  pp.  129-167.  S. R.  Gurkovich  &  J.  B.  Blum,  "Preparation  of Mono› lithic  Lead-Titanate  by a  Sol-Gel  Process",  Ultras› truct. Process.  Ceram  ... Proc.  Int. Conf.,  (1984),  pp.  152-160. 