Nano-silica and SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposite prepared from semi-burned rice straw ash as modified papermaking fillers

Silica (SiO2) nanoparticles and silica/calcium carbonate (SiO2/CaCO3) core-shell nano-composites were prepared by sol-gel technique as fillers for papermaking application. Semi-burned rice straw ash (SBRSA), as waste material, was used to prepare the targeted fillers. Preparation of SiO2 nanoparticles and SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposites was carried out using Na2SiO3 solution that was prepared from SBRSA and CaCO3 nanoparticles of 30-70 nm. The targeted SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposites were prepared with different molar ratio of SiO2:CaCO3 1:15, 1:10 and 1:5. The percentage of silica increased from 62.5% to 82.9% by thermal treatment of SBRSA at 800 degrees C for 2 h. The prepared SiO2 nanoparticles and SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposites were characterized by using XRD, XRF, TEM, FT-IR and Zeta potential. The results indicate that a pure semi-crystalline SiO2 nanoparticle and semi-crystalline shell of SiO2 coated CaCO3 core particles were produced. The work extended also to investigate the effect of the prepared fillers on physical, mechanical and optical properties of paper. Application of the prepared SiO2 nanoparticles and SiO2/CaCO3 nanocomposites improved the optical properties of paper (brightness, whiteness and opacity) but it slightly reduced the mechanical properties when compared to commercial precipitated CaCO3 (PCC) filler. The results showed that the retention of SiO2 nano-particles was highly increased. The retention of the prepared nanocomposites increased along with increasing of SiO2:CaCO3 molar ratio. (C) 2014 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.