Porous microsphere of silica was prepared by an interfacial reaction method, in which silica particle was formed by the reaction of aqueous solution of sodium silicate emulsified in benzene solution of surfactants with aqueous solution of ammonium sulfate. In addition, preparation conditions for controlling the particle size and pore volume of silica microsphere were studied.
The particles were prepared under the following constant conditions : concentration of SiO
2 and (NH
4)
2SO
4 were respectively 4.0 mol/
l and 1.5 mol/
l, surfactant was mixture of Tween-80 and Span-60 in concentration of 21g/
l. The W/O ratio was varied from 1/3 to 1/5, and SiO
2/Na
2O ratio in sodium silicate solution was the range of 1-3, for examining the influence of the W/O ratio and the concentration of SiO
2 on particle size and pore volume of the silica microspheres. Properties of particles were determined by the scanning electron microscopic method, particle size distribution, specific surface area, and pore size distribution.
It was found that the particle size was dependent on the W/O ratio in emulsion, and that the specific surface area, the pore volume and the heat of immersion were decreased with increasing SiO
2/Na
2O ratio in sodium silicate solution.
These results suggest that the pore on the silica microsphere was formed by release of Na
2O molecules from the droplet of sodium silicate solution of emulsion in the interfacial reaction.
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