Industrial mass-production of mesoporous silica spherical particles by a spray-drying process: investigation of synthetic conditions

Abstract

A spray-drying process was applied to the mass-production of mesoporous silica particles. The applied nozzle pressure and amount of solvent in the precursor solution were varied to control the average particle size. The particle-size distribution showed a bell curve with a normal distribution. As the nozzle pressure was increased from 0.05 to 0.20 MPa, the average particle size was decreased proportionally. In addition, as the surfactant concentrations in the precursor solutions were decreased, the average particle size was decreased. Based on the results of low-angle X-ray diffraction measurements, N₂ adsorption measurements, and TEM observations, it was proven that well-ordered mesoporous structures were formed inside the particles. It is proved that the spray-drying conditions do not affect the mesoporous structures but do affect the average particle size.