Effect of various amount of ammonium hydroxide on morphology of silica nanoparticles grown by sol-gel

Abstract

Silica nanoparticles have drawn significant intentions for their potential in solar cell coating applications. These products occupy a noticeable position in a scientific research because of their easy preparation and wide uses for different technological applications. The quality of silica nanoparticles are highly dependent on the size. This study reports the synthesis of monodisperse silica nanoparticles by hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in a mixture of ethanol and DI water as a solvent and ammonium hydroxide solution (NH4OH) as a catalyst. The solutions are stirred overnight and dried in a low-pressure furnace under 100 mbar for 3 hours at 60°C. Various-sized silica nanoparticles in the range 80 nm – 250 nm were examined under field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). With the increasing volume of ammonia solution, an increase in the size of silica nanoparticles were observed.