• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.562-569
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• 2018

We propose an economic and facile method for the preparation of silica nanoparticles through a two-step process utilizing chlorosilane residues. Mixed chlorosilane residue was alcoholized with absolute ethanol as a first step to form tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The TEOS was then utilized as a silicon source to synthesize silica nanoparticles in a sol-gel method. The alcoholysis process was designed and optimized utilizing the Taguchi experimental design method and the yield of TEOS was as high as 82.2% under optimal synthetic conditions. Similarly, the Taguchi method was also utilized to study the effects of synthesis factors on the particle size of silica nanoparticles. The results of statistical analysis indicate that the concentration of ammonia has a greater influence on particle size compared to the mass fractions of TEOS and polyethylene glycol (4.6% and 9.7%). The purity of the silica particles synthesized in our experiments is high, but the specific surface area and pore volume are small.