Gel has been prepared with nickel chloride and glucose in the starting solution followed by heat treatment at higher temperature, where glucose decomposes to carbon and water vapour, which in turn react to form hydrogenin situ to reduce nickel chloride to metallic nickel. The presence and distribution of nickel granules in the microcomposite, has been established by transmission electron microscopy, selected area diffraction and electron paramagnetic resonance analysis.

Isothermalin situ reduction kinetic study of NiCl₂-containing gel was carried out. The detailed statistical as well as reduced time analysis show that contracting geometry and nucleation and growth type of mixed mechanisms are operative. The activation energy for reduction is in the range 158–193 kJ/mol. Thermal analysis on NiCl₂-containing gel was carried out in the temperature range 800°C to 900°C.

The present investigation deals with the synthesis of monolithic NiCl₂-silica gels obtained by hydrolysis and polycondensation of tetraethoxy silanes. This sol to gel formation can mainly be controlled by adjusting some variables e.g. acid content of the solution, ageing and leaching times. A minimum acid content was found necessary to prepare uncracked gel while ageing and leaching times were found to be not that sensitive for the formation of uncracked gels.

In this study the perovskite manganite Eu$_{0.2}$La$_{0.3}$Sr$_{0.2}$Ca$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$ batch integrated sample is studied, with special modification done to introduce localized structural strain without micro-level (grains) modification. This consequence successfully generates opposite nature of high orthorhombic strain along b-axis in these samples, although the general structure is same for both with $Pnma$ space group. The sharp magnetic transitions (both Curie temperature and charge-ordertransition) are reported to be mixed in presence of random ionic distribution in its structure. The diffused insulator-metal behaviour, de-stabilization of magnetic state and phase transitions associated with inherent anisotropic strain is discussed and is explained based on chemical disorder-induced structural strain in the present system.