Hilonga, Askwar; Kim, Jong-gil; Sarawade, Pradip B.; Quang,Dang Viet; Shao, Godlisten N.; Elineema, Gideon; Kim, Hee Taik
Description:
The aimof this study is to identify an acid precursor that ismost desirable for the synthesis of sodiumsilicate-based
silver-doped silica for large-scale industrial production. The final products were developed based on the presence
of silver (silver-doped silica) or the absence of silver (pure silica). The properties of the obtained final products
were examined using the BET method. This method involves characterization based on N2 physisorption studies
to determine the surface area, pore diameter, and pore volume. Various graphs were plotted using the obtained
data to describe the pore size distribution, isotherms, and the properties of hysteresis loops. Silver-doped silica
with a BET surface area of up to 357 m2/g and a pore size of 5.4 nm was obtained using the most desirable
precursors—sodium silicate and sulfuric acid. This is an unprecedented step toward synthesis of silver-doped
silica fromdesirable precursors. This approach to the synthesis of silica with desirable propertieswithout involving
sacrificial templates (surfactants) will be convenient for many applications and suitable for large-scale economic
industrial production.