Controllable Preparation of Multi-Morphology Nanosized Silica by Hydrolysis of Mixed Chlorosilanes in Mixed Solvent of Alcohol and Water

Abstract

The nanosized silica with different morphologies such as sphere, granule, needle, short rod, hollow tubule, has been in turn synthesized by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as template and mixed chlorosilane (silicon tetrachloride and trichlorosilane) as silicon source in aliphatic alcohol aqueous solution. The as-prepared products were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and BET nitrogen adsorption technique was employed for determination of specific surface area of the powdery silica. The formation conditions and mechanism of the nanosized silica with special and diverse shapes are preliminarily discussed.

Using hydrolysis of silicon tetrachloride to prepare highly dispersed precipitated nanosilica

“…Werner Stöber et al [13] prepared a silica sphere with good dispersity using an amine, alcohol, water and organosilicone system. Zhang et al [14] used a system with a percentage of silicon tetrachloride, water and ethanol to prepare spherical particles with diameters between 150 and 250 nm. These particles had better dispersity than particles made in a silicon tetrachloride and water system, but there were still some problems such as oversize diameters and overly rapid reaction.…”