Influence of Acid Type on the Pore Structure of Gel-Derived Silica. Journal of Surfaces and Interfaces of Materials.
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Date
2013
Authors
Essien, E.R.
Adams, L.A.
Shaibu, R.O.
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Abstract
Porous silica was prepared from sodium metasilicate by the sol–gel technique using three acid catalysts, HCl, H2SO4 and HNO3 at ambient conditions. The gels were washed with deionized water, dried and calcined to form silica particles. The obtained powders were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and mathematical techniques to determine particle size, pore size, surface area, morphology as well as the type of bonds present. XRD investigation revealed that the materials contained amorphous SiO2, while SEM results indicated different morphologies for the particles obtained from the three different acid catalysts. The silica particles derived from HCl catalyzed gelation (HCP) gave average particle size of 597.95 nm and pore size range of 0.18–0.91 μm, particles from H2SO4 catalysed gelation (HSP) yielded average particle size of 353.75 nm and pore sizes in the sub-micron range of 0.10–0.40 μm, while those derived from using HNO3 as catalyst (HNP) was 701.23 nm with pore sizes in the range 2.12–3.74 m. The result suggests that the properties of silica is influenced by the type of acid used and this can be utilized to synthesize porous silica of desired pore size for commercial use without the use of templates.
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Staff Publications
Keywords
Research Subject Categories::NATURAL SCIENCES::Chemistry::Inorganic chemistry::Solid state chemistry , Porous silica , Sodium metasilicate , Silica particles , Electron microscopy
Citation
Essien, E. R., Adams, L. A., & Shaibu, R. O. (2013). Influence of Acid Type on the Pore Structure of Gel-Derived Silica. Journal of Surfaces and Interfaces of Materials, 1(2), 172-176.