Abstract:
Silica network was tailored configuring siloxane (Si-O-Si) and silanol (Si-OH) groups which are essential to produce porous-structured materials. As silanols are hydrophilic, react with water to form fouling. This research address to actualize strategy for synthesizing highly functionalized silica carbon (Si-C) using hybrid organic-inorganic structures as the primary method for improving hydro-stability by employing precursor TEOS and organic catalyst through a sol-gel process. Catalysis employs citric acid or citric acid-ammonia whereas carbon templated into silica network. The synthesis scheme involves: a) sol-gel process at 0°C and b) calcination. Silica sol dried into xerogels were prepared and calcined at 200°C and 250°C. Characterization of xerogels showed the infrared band areas of the organic groups to evaluate the thermal stability. For xerogel employed single (pH 5.5) and dual (pH 7.65) catalyst, infrared spectra showed mostly look similar Si-C area at similar wavelength. Silica xerogel is more effectively prepared from TEOS with one-step single acid catalyst including calcination.
