Hee Chan Park

Preparation of Submicron Silica Powders from Sodium Silicate Using Ultrasonic Energy

Submicron silica powders were prepared by w/o emulsion method using inexpensive sodium silicate, ammonium sulfate and Triton N-57 as SiO2 source, precipitant and emulsifier, respectively. Nano-sized silica powders with narrow size distribution were prepared at a low temperature of 25°C for 1h by ultrasonic irradiation of the reactants using a commercial ultrasonic cleaner operating at a frequency of 47kHz, whereas silica powders with larger size and broad size distribution were synthesized using the same reactants at the same temperature and for the same time by the conventional process without ultrasounds. The particle size and size distribution of the silica powders obtained by the ultrasonic process were smaller and narrower than those by the conventional process, indicating that the application of ultrasound in the synthesis of silica powders by the w/o emulsion method is an efficient way to have powders with smaller and narrower particle size distribution.

The Preparation of Alumina Nanopowders from Solution Derived Precipitates through Polymer Gel Method

Non-aggregated nanoscale α-Al2O3 powders with average size ranging from 7 to 20 nm were prepared successfully at various conditions with the use of the hydrated aluminum sulfate extracted from kaolin by polyacrylamine (PAA) gel method. The calcination temperature was relatively lower about 100°C, compared to conventional solid-state reaction. It revealed that PAA worked as a chelating agent to disperse the Al3+ ions homogeneously, and the size of alumina nanoparticles could be controlled by varying the concentration of crosslinking agent.

Synthesis of Nanosized Silica Powder by Ultrasonic Process

Nanosized silica powders were synthesized via w/o emulsion method using sodium silicate as SiO2 source under ultrasonic process. The powders were prepared under conventional process and ultrasonic process using the same reactants at ambient temperature for 1h varying the concentration of Na2SiO3 solution while fixing the concentration of surfactant in cyclohexane. The particle size of the silica powder decreased with decreasing the concentration of sodium silicate solution under both conditions, with and without ultrasounds. However, the particle size and size distribution of the silica powder with ultrasounds were smaller and narrower than those without ultrasounds, establishing that ultrasound treatments decrease the particle size and become narrow in particle size distribution.