Synthesis and Characterization of Microwave Absorber SiO2 by Sol-Gel Methode

In recent years, information technology is growing rapidly, such as communication devices. However, there are still many shortcomings, for example, confidential information leaks caused by the leakage of electromagnetic waves used. A coating of electromagnetic materials or formation composite of electromagnetic material with other materials such as SiO2 is needed to overcome these problems. For such needs, it is necessary to study the manufacture of SiO2 which is simple, cheap, and effective. In this research, manufacture of SiO2 by sol-gel method used a solution of sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) as precursors and H2SO4 as a catalyst. The parameters tested in this experiment is the effect of sintering temperature on the properties of the resulting SiO2. The purpose of this study was to obtain an amorphous SiO2 powder, which is in nano-sized and has a high surface area. The characterization of prepared samples were performed by using an X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transmission Infra Red (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Surface Area Analyzer (SAA). Based on the experimental results, the SiO2 amorphous structure was obtained with a particle size of 15-20 nm, the surface area of 298 m 2 /g, and sintering temperature of 100 °C.