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A simplified synthesis of silica Colloids with tunable hydrophobicity

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Abstract

Colloidal silica nanoparticles with average diameters less than 100 nm were made using a modified Stöber method involving tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and octadecyl trimethoxysilane (OTMOS) as a surface modifier. We show that the hydrophobicity of the nanoparticles could be tuned in this one-step reaction by introducing methanol as a co-solvent with ethanol and optimizing the ammonium hydroxide concentration and time elapsed between TEOS and OTMOS addition. Using this approach, silica nanoparticles could be made directly with the proper surface hydrophobicity to stabilize invert (water-in-oil) emulsions with shear-thinning rheological behavior as needed in oil drilling applications. Particle characterization data from transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and contact angle measurements are presented.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Heonjoo Ha and Chris Ellison for their assistance with the rheology measurements. Financial support of this work was provided by the Robert A. Welch Foundation through grant no. F-1464.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Materials Institute, and Center for Nano- and Molecular Science and Technology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712-1589, USA

    Maliheh Dargahi-Zaboli & Brian A. Korgel

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Petroleum Research Center, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran

    Maliheh Dargahi-Zaboli & Eghbal Sahraei

  3. Department of Polymer Engineering, Nanostructured Materials Research Center, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran

    Behzad Pourabbas

Authors
  1. Maliheh Dargahi-Zaboli
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  2. Eghbal Sahraei
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  3. Behzad Pourabbas
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  4. Brian A. Korgel
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Correspondence to Eghbal Sahraei or Brian A. Korgel.

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Dargahi-Zaboli, M., Sahraei, E., Pourabbas, B. et al. A simplified synthesis of silica Colloids with tunable hydrophobicity. Colloid Polym Sci 295, 925–932 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-017-4079-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-017-4079-8

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