Characteristics of crystalline silica (SiO2) particles prepared by simple solution method using sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) precursor

Abstract

The crystalline silica (SiO2) particle is successfully prepared using simple solution method from sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) precursor. The FTIR spectrum of the sample confirms the presence of SiO2. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that the sample is cristobalite type of SiO2 which is comparable with ICSD ref. number of 01-076-0941. The crystallite size is about 28 nm as calculated by Scherrer method and the average particle diameter was about 697 nm as confirmed by Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) measurement. The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image reveals that the sample reveal micro-flake with irregular rod-shaped morphology. The purity of sample is examined by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) which shows about 93.1 mass % of pure SiO2 whereas, the purity of the raw precursor Na2SiO3 before synthesis is about 60.5 Mass %. The synthesized SiO2 particles can be used for several applications, where SiO2 is used in its crystalline phase.