Structural Features of Fibri-Form Silica from Short Chrysotile Fibers by Acid-Leaching

The fibri-form silica was successfully synthesized from the short chrysotile fibers by inorganic acid-leaching. X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and N2 adsorption isotherms were used to characterize the products. The results indicate that the fibri-form silica is a kind of noncrystalline material, and the content of SiO2 in the fibri-form silica is 98.30%. From 50°C to 1200°C, the structure of fibri-form silica is stable. The average diameter of single fiber range from 20 nm to 50nm and the lengths are 50nm to 3μm. The surface area and pore volume of fibri-form silica are 369.22m2/g and 0.43cc/g, respectively. And the size of pore diameters are different, is one of mesopore materials presenting high quality filler and catalyzer carrier.