Abstract
Silica gel is a very important material in technology. Usually tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) is used as precursor in the sol-gel science. But silica gel can also be formed by liquid silica solutions, like alkali silica solutions and silica sols. Due to their importance in paint technology and as a constituent in building material, we investigated alkali silica solutions (especially potassium water glass) and the silica sol Levasil 300. The gel formation process of inorganic silica solutions is quite different to gel formation from TEOS. Gel formation by TEOS is due to polymerization of monomers, whereas the gel formation process of inorganic silica solutions is due to condensation of dense SiO2 particles with particle diameters of a few nanometers. Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy proved to be a powerful tool to obtain information on the structure of these liquid silica solutions and their sol-gel processes. Most information could be derived from the main silica peak at ~1070 cm-1. This peak can be assigned to the TO3 vibration mode of silica. In silica solutions and in silica gels this peak is composed of different peaks. Compared to earlier studies an additional peak can be found at ~1040 cm-1 in potassium silica solutions. By comparison of FTIR spectra of related silica glasses and their liquid solutions the peak at ~1027 cm-1 can be assigned to vibration modes of SiO2 on the surface of silica particles. The intensities of these individual peaks contain information on the degree of polymerization and the particle size of the silica particles in the liquid solutions. The information about particle size is limited to nanosized particles between 2 and 6 nm.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
H. H. WELDES AND K. R. LANGE, Ind. Eng. Chem. 61 (1969) 29.
J. G. VAIL, “SOLUBLE SILICATES” (REINHOLD PUBLISHING, 1952).
M. JOKINEN, E. GYÖRVARY AND J. B. ROSENHOLM, Coll. Surf. A 141 (1998) 205.
G. W. SCHERRER, J. NON-CRYST. SOLIDS 215 (1995) 155.
M. A. EINARSRUD, M. B. KIRKEDELEN, E. NILSEN, K. MORTENSEN AND J. SAMSETH, ibid. 231 (1998) 10.
R. STANGL, M. A. EINARSRUD, W. PLATZER AND V. WITTWER, Solar Energy Mat. Solar Cells 54 (1998) 181.
C. AUBERT AND D. S. CANNELL, Phys. Rev. Let. 56 (1986) 738.
D. HOEBBEL, R. EBERT, J. PAULI AND D. KRUSCHKE, Z. anorg. allg. Chem. 614 (1992) 95.
D. HOEBBEL AND R. EBERT, Z. Chem. 28 (1988) 41.
J. L. BASS AND G. L. TURNER, J. Phys. Chem. B 101 (1997) 10638.
J. Y. JING AND J. B. BENZIGER, Col. Surf. A 74 (1993) 23.
T. A. GUITON AND G. C. PANTANO, ibid. 74 (1993) 33.
P. INNOCENZI, NON-CRYST. SOLIDS, 316 (2003) 309.
M. MUROYA, COLL. SURF. A 157 (1999) 147.
N. PRIMEAU, C. VAUTEY AND M. LANGLET, Thin Solid Films 310 (1997) 47.
J. GALLARDO, A. DURAN, D. DI MARTINO AND R. M. ALMEIDA, J. Non-Cryst. Solids 298 (2002) 219.
M. HINO AND T. SATO, Bul. Chem. Soc. Jap. 44 (1971) 33.
F. GABORIAUD, D. CHAUMONT, A. NONAT AND A. CRAIEVICH, J. Appl. Cryst. 33 (2000) 597.
I. M. M. SALVADO, J. S. SOUSA, F. M. A. MARGACA AND J. TEIXEIRA, Physsica B 276–278 (2000) 388.
P. W. J. G. WIJNEN, T. P. M. BEELEN, C. P. J. RUMMENS, H. C. P. L SAEIJS, J. W. DE HAAN, L. J. M. VAN DE VEN AND R. A. VAN SANTER, J. Coll. Inter. Sci. 145 (1991) 17.
Idem. P. W. J. G. WIJNEN, T. P. M. BEELEN, C. P. J. RUMMENS, H. C. P. L SAEIJS and R. A. VAN SANTER, J. Appl. Cryst. 24 (1991) 759.
E. THILO, W. WIEKER AND H. STADE, Z. anorg. allg. Chem. 340 (1965) 261.
R. K. ILER, “THE CHEMISTRY OF SILICA” (JOHN WILEY & SONS, NEW YORK, 1979) P. 97.
D. HOEBBEL AND W. WIEKER, Z. anorg. allg. Chem. 400 (1973) 148.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Osswald, J., Fehr, K.T. FTIR spectroscopic study on liquid silica solutions and nanoscale particle size determination. J Mater Sci 41, 1335–1339 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-7327-8
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-7327-8