To obtain high-specific-surface-area and uniform silica nanospheres of fibrous morphologies
the hydrothermal method with and without stirring was adopted to fabricate the nanoparticles
and the fabrication mechanism as well as the influencing factors on their development were explored. Taking fibrous silica nanospheres prepared by microwave method under the same condition as references
scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were applied to observe morphologies of the silica nanospheres developed by hydrothermal and microwave methods
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to identify chemical compositions of the three silica nanospheres
X-ray diffractometer (XRD) to reveal the crystal structures
as well as nitrogen (N2) adsorption-desorption isotherms to characterize the type of adsorption-desorption and pore diameters
respectively. The results indicate that nanospheres synthesized by hydrothermal method possess bigger sizes and more uniform morphologies. Especially
the effectiveness of hydrothermal method with stirring was more obvious. These three kinds of the as-prepared silica nanospheres own same chemical structures and chemical functional groups
and belong to Ⅳ adsorption-desorption isotherms with H3 loops. Specific surface area (and pore volumes) of the three nanospheres were 480.156 m2 /g(1.287 cm3 /g)
respectively. The pressure of the reaction system and the degree of uniformity of the reaction mother liquor collectively endow the nanospheres with special properties like morphologies and structural differences. The former accelerates uniform micellar emulsion
and the latter prompts formation of reverse micelles.