Fast nucleation for silica nanoparticle synthesis using a sol-gel method.

ABSTRACT: We have developed a method that for the first time allowed us to synthesize silica particles in 20 minutes using a sol-gel preparation. Therefore, it is critically important to understand the synthesis mechanism and kinetic behavior in order to achieve a higher degree of fine tuning ability during the synthesis. In this study, we have employed our ability to modulate the physical nature of the reaction medium from sol-gel to emulsion, which has allowed us to halt the reaction at a particular time; this has allowed us to precisely understand the mechanism and chemistry of the silica polymerization. The synthesis medium is kept quite simple with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as a precursor in an equi-volumetric ethanol-water system and with sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. Synthesis is perf

SUBMITTER: Dixit CK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5137187 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature