Silica nanoparticles particles were synthesized from rice hulls and characterized. The particles were found to be amorphous in nature, ranging in size from 50 to 100 nm. The concentration of silica nanoparticles, pH and curing time were taken as independent variables to design the experiment. Box-Behnken method has been used to derive the experimental plan and fifteen experiments were conducted. Regression equations have been formed with the dependent and independent variables and the results of all possible combinations have been derived. The combination of optimized concentration of BTCA and SHP were used as crosslinking agent and catalyst respectively and silica nano particles were used to enhance the physical properties of the cotton fabric. The effect of pH and curing time on physical properties were analysed by FTIR studies. By ranking method the best combination of process parameters were identified. From this study, it was observed that higher concentration of silica nanoparticles with BTCA improve the crease recovery angle and tensile strength. FTIR studies revealed that the increase of pH and curing time increases the ester carbonyl band intensity ratio.

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In this study, we prepared amorphous and crystalline silica nanoparticles from rice hulls biomass using pyrolysis technique at different processing temperatures such as 923, 973, 1023, 1073, 1123 and 1173 K. X-ray fluorescence studies show that the purity of all the synthesised silica nanoparticles is in the range of 98-99.7%. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that amorphous silica nanoparticles are formed at 923-1023 K, whereas crystalline particles at 1073-1173 K. Morphology and microstructure of silica nanoparticles are studied by scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes. Silica nanoparticles obtained at different processing temperatures yield particle size in the range of 6-100 nm. Chemical composition and surface functionalities of the particles are examined by energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies. The developed method effectively uses rice hulls biomass as a green natural source in the synthesis of amorphous and crystalline silica nanoparticles with high-specific surface area. The optimised processing temperature (1023 K) enables amorphous silica nanoparticles to have high-specific surface area of 538 m(2)g(-1).

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