The study of silica morphologies generated in spray dried systems

Silica is known as functional material and has a broad application role in various fields. The particle morphology of silica has become one of the significant concerns for supporting optimal performance. Morphology parameters, such as particle specific surface area and pore volume, would benefit its application, such as adsorbent or catalyst support. An inorganic template like a surfactant can be used in silica synthesis to obtain a particular morphological shape and increase its specific surface area. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) effect as a surfactant template was investigated to obtain silica particle and template removal for one-step synthesis using a spray drying method. The precursor solution was made using the sol-gel method and then added with various surfactant concentrations before spray dried. The result showed an increase in silica particle's specific surface area with surfactant addition compared with silica particle without surfactant. Surfactants cause a decrease in the surface tension's value for the precursor solution, so the droplets become unstable and rupture caused by low cohesion force. The particles tend to have curvature and more pore volume, which causes a larger specific surface area. The silica particle synthesized by adding SLS surfactant in the precursor at a concentration of 1 CMC has a specific surface area of 954.2 m2/gram and a pore volume of 0.92 cc/gram. On the other hand, silica particle without template has a specific surface area and pore volume of 131.0 m2/gram and 0.12 cc/gram.