Modification of Silica surface by Titanium sol synthesis and characterization

Hydrophobic silica titanium nanoparticles (STNPs) were successfully synthesized by the sol-gel process using liquid modification. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) studies were demonstrated the attachment of titanium on the silica surface. Titanium content enhanced the agglomeration of particles as shown in topography results. The N2 adsorption-desorption followed Type (V) isotherm indicating the meso-porous nature of the synthesized pure silica. However, STNPs followed type (II) isotherms representing the presence of the large pores. The presence of titanium reduced the surface area of silica nanoparticles with an increase in pore volume and size. Amorphous nature of the synthesized STNPs was observed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The synthesized pure silica and STNPs exhibited considerable thermal stability up to 800 ° C. The thermo-gravimetric analysis along with the hydrophobicity test confirmed the hydrophobic nature of synthesized silica titanium nanoparticles.