Silica nucleation

We can nucleate crystallization from the melt by incorporating finely ground inorganic crystalline compounds such as silica. Nucleation of injection molded nylons has three primary effects it raises the crystallization temperature, increases the crystallization rate, and reduces the average spherulite size. The net effect on morphology is increased crystallinity. This translates into improved abrasion resistance and hardness, at the expense of lower impact resistance and reduced elongation at break,... 

Fig. 3.5 Representation of a scheme of an experiment (upper set of drawings) and the obtained experimental results presented as AFM images (middle part) and cross-sectional profiles (bottom) that provides evidence of silica nucleation and shell formation on biopolymer macromolecules. Scheme of experiment. This includes the following main steps. 1. Protection of the mica surface against silica precipitation. It was covered with a fatty (ara-chidic) acid monolayer transferred from a water substrate with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. This made the mica surface hydrophobic because of the orientation of the acid molecules with their hydrocarbon chains pointing outwards. 2. Adsorption of carbohydrate macromolecules. Hydrophobically modified cationic hydroxyethylcellulose was adsorbed from an aqueous solution. Hydrocarbon chains of polysaccharide served as anchors to fix the biomacromolecules firmly onto the acid monolayer. 3. Surface treatment by silica precursor. The mica covered with an acid mono-...

Additional evidence for silica nucleation on biopolymer macromolecules was furnished by experiments in which solutions of proteins were studied by dynamic light scattering. As an illustration, Figure 3.6 shows the relative intensity of light scattering versus the diameter of the scattering particles in solution with 1 wt.% of bovine serum albumin. Curve 1 presents the initial state where the protein was not yet treated with silica precursor. The measured... 

The silica nucleated only on the biomacromolecules. By decreasing the THEOS amount in solution from 3 to 0.03 wt.%, we observed a curtailment of the particle diameter to the macromolecular dimension. This constitutes evidence that most of the silica generated in situ was used to form a shell. 

B. A. Keiser s contribution to this book (the introduction to the section Preparation and Stability of Sols ) constitutes an excellent introduction to silica nucleation, polymerization, and growth in both aqueous and alcoholic systems for the preparation of silica sols. Yoshida s chapter (Chapter 2) focuses on industrial development in the preparation of monodisperse sols from sodium silicate and predicts further progress in the development of silica sols that have shapes other than spherical, such as elongated, fibrous, and platelet. Colloidal silica particles with these shapes show novel properties and open the possibility of new industrial applications. 

Silica Nucleation, Polymerization, and Growth Preparation of Monodispersed Sols... 

SILICA NUCLEATION, POLYMERIZATION, AND GROWTH PREPARATION OF MONODISPERSE SILICA SOLS... 

Carpet industry adhesive contains silica nucleating agent, such as sand, glass, and specifically, ground, powdered, or crashed glass. ... 

Controlled hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane in a nonionic water-in-oil microemulsion a statistical model of silica nucleation. Colloids and Surfaces, 154, 311-26. 

---