Synthesis and Characterization of Nanosilica from Rice Husk Ash Prepared by Precipitation Method

Abstract

Nanosilica was prepared by precipitation method and characterized by various analytical techniques. Transmission electron micrographs show nano-silica particles are in the agglomerate form with dimension of 50 nm. The par-ticle shape was found to be uniform and agglomerated. The diffraction pattern of the particles shows a diffuse ring pattern with indicative of amorphous phase. X-ray diffractograms show that the obtained product is amorphous nanosilica and the specific surface area is 656 m2g-1. Subsequently, the infrared spectra data supports the presence of hydrogen bonded silanol group and siloxane groups in silica. In this study, nanosilica was introduced in cement paste. From the experimental results, it was found that the incorporation of the nanosilica in the cement paste increase the compressive strength when compared withthat of the portland cemen paste.