Ballistic aggregation: an alternative approach to modeling of silica sol–gel structures

An algorithm based on ballistic aggregation is discussed as an alternative to the commonly used, much slower diffusion-based algorithms for modeling of atomic structure of silica gels. The algorithm is shown to be capable of producing a wide range of structures: from extremely porous to compact (dense) ones. The importance of capture distance as a controlling parameter is discussed. Electron microscope images of actual silica gels morphologically very similar to the rendered images of the simulated aggregates are shown.