L. Gan, Kai Zhang, C. Chew
May 15, 1996
Citations
1
Influential Citations
36
Citations
Journal
Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
Abstract
Sodium orthosilicate has been used to synthesize nanometer silica particles (5–20 nm) in water-in-oil microemulsion systems containing cyclohexane and a mixture of non-ionic surfactants, without using a cosurfactant. The particle sizes of silica formed in the microemulsion systems were affected by the pH and the concentration of sodium orthosilicate. Spherical silica particles formed in a wide range of pH (2–11) can easily be observed by transmission electron microscopy. Silica particles produced under basic conditions were more uniform in size, but larger specific surface areas (350–400 m2 g−1) of the calcined silica powders were only obtained from samples prepared in an acidic medium.