Preparation and Surface-Modification of Alumina/Silica Composite Nanoparticles

Abstract

In this work, alumina/silica (Al₂O₃/SiO₂) composite nanoparticles were prepared using aluminum isopropoxide and tetraethyl orthosilicate as raw materials. We prepared Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ precursors with sol-gel method and Al₂O₃/SiO₂composite nanoparticles by hydrothermal method, respectively. We in situ modified Al₂O₃/SiO₂composite nanoparticles and optimized the modifier and modification route. The characterizations of the Al₂O₃/SiO₂composite nanoparticles were performed with transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and Zeta potential analysis. Under the optimized modification conditions, the modified Al₂O₃/SiO₂composite nanoparticles had good dispersion and suspension. The surface of the Al₂O₃/SiO₂composite nanoparticles was changed from hydrophile into lipophilicity.