Synthesis of low density and high purity silica xerogels from South African sugarcane leaves without the usage of a surfactant

dc.contributor.authorNondumiso Maseko, Ncamisile
dc.contributor.authorEnke, Dirk
dc.contributor.authorIwarere, Samuel Ayodele
dc.contributor.authorOluwafemi, Oluwatobi Samuel
dc.contributor.authorPocock, Jonathan
dc.contributor.emailsamuel.iwarere@up.ac.zaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-17T12:53:58Z
dc.date.available2024-01-17T12:53:58Z
dc.date.issued2023-03-05
dc.description.abstractSugarcane leaves were used to produce high-purity and low-density silica xerogels through a sol–gel method. The biogenic silica produced through a thermochemical method was reacted with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to form sodium silicate and the produced sodium silicate was titrated with 1 M citric acid to form silica gel. The formed silica gel was washed, subjected to a solvent exchange process and later dried at 80 C to produce low-density and high-purity silica xerogels. The produced xerogels were characterized with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen physisorption, elemental analysis (CHNS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The produced silica xerogels had an amorphous structure and purity of 99.9 wt%. In addition, the textural properties analysis showed that the xerogel has a BET surface area of 668 m2g1, an average pore diameter of 7.5 nm, a pore volume of 1.26 cm3g1 and a density of 0.23 gcm3.en_US
dc.description.departmentChemical Engineeringen_US
dc.description.librarianam2024en_US
dc.description.sdgSDG-15:Life on landen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipUniversity Capacity Development Program.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainabilityen_US
dc.identifier.citationMaseko, N.N.; Enke, D.; Iwarere, S.A.; Oluwafemi, O.S.; Pocock, J. Synthesis of Low Density and High Purity Silica Xerogels from South African Sugarcane Leaves without the Usage of a Surfactant. Sustainability 2023, 15, 4626. https://DOI.org/10.3390/su15054626.en_US
dc.identifier.issn2071-1050 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.3390/su15054626
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/94001
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMDPIen_US
dc.rights© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.en_US
dc.subjectXerogelen_US
dc.subjectSugarcane leavesen_US
dc.subjectSol–gel methoden_US
dc.subjectAmorphous biogenic silicaen_US
dc.subjectValue added materialen_US
dc.subjectSolvent exchangeen_US
dc.subjectSDG-15: Life on landen_US
dc.titleSynthesis of low density and high purity silica xerogels from South African sugarcane leaves without the usage of a surfactanten_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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