Silica glasses containing ferric nitrate nonahydrate were prepared by the sol-gel method from ferric nitrate hydrate and silicon alkoxides. The dried samples were thermally treated and the thermal transition was studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The chemical bonds in the glassy materials were analysed by means of infrared spectroscopy and the crystalline structure was examined by x-ray diffraction. The solution mixtures of the reactants were studied by spectroscopy in the ultraviolet visible region. The glasses underwent thermal transitions similar to the pure ferric nitrate nonahydrate with some modificatins due to the interaction with the silica network. The infrared spectra indicated the existence of Si-0-Fe bond.
