Sol Gel Synthesis and Characterization of Zirconia Containing Hydrophobic Silica Nanoparticles

Hydrophobic mesoporous zirconia containing silica nanoparticles was synthesized via sol gel process. Silica sol was prepared and subsequently liquid modified with different proportions of zirconia. The effects of zirconia content on the silica textures and properties were studied. TGA results confirmed the development of hydrophobicity in zirconia containing silica nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR and XRF. The topography of silica particles changed as a function of zirconia content as evident from FESEM and TEM results. From XRD investigation, surface area measurement and pore size analysis it was observed that the synthesized silica was semi amorphous materials with very narrow pore diameter distribution as a function of zirconia content. From nitrogen physisorption studies mesoporous nature (type V) of the synthesized silica was noted. The synthesized pure silica possessed significant surface area while the zirconium content caused a reduction on the surface area of silica zirconium nanoparticles.