Silanization of siliceous materials, part 3: Modification of surface energy and acid-base properties of silica nanoparticles determined by inverse gas chromatography (IGC)

Surface modified silica nanoparticles are well-established composite materials. To improve their embedding and application behavior, surface energy analysis has been performed before and after silanization with mercapto-propyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) using inverse gas chromatography technique (IGC). Experiments with two silica materials have been conducted at infinite dilution to determine the dispersive component of the surface energy (gamma(d)(s)) as well as the specific component (gamma(sp)(s)) using the van Oss theory and a least-squares procedure evaluating the IGC data of 8 polar probe molecules collectively (instead of evaluating only the data of a pair of monopolar probes as is often the case in IGC studies). After surface silylation, the total surface energy (gamma(t)(s)) of pyrogenic silica nanoparticles decreased from 225 mJ/m(2) to 149 mJ/m(2) referring to both a reduced wettability and an increased hydrophobicity of the MPTMS-modified sample. Moreover, the acidity/basicity parameters according to the van Oss and the Gutmann approach indicated that the acidity of the silica surface decreases by MPTMS grafting. In addition, IGC at finite concentration (using isopropanol as probe molecule) was applied to obtain the energetic heterogeneity of the silica surface. The results showed a bimodal energy distribution with maxima at about 18 and 25 kJ/mol and a reduction of the higher energetic sites from 65% to only 35% after MPTMS treatment. Overall, it can be seen that the dominance of specific interactions on silica surfaces is maintained even after extensive silanization. These findings are in agreement with the results of Si-29 CP MAS NMR measurements which confirm the assignment of higher energetic sites to silanol groups. For the interpretation of the IGC results, quantum chemical calculations proved the preferred interaction of isopropanol onto silica surfaces via hydrogen bridging.

Automated summary

The experimental results of surface-modified silica nanoparticles show that surface silylation reduces total surface energy, improves wettability, increases hydrophobicity, and decreases acidity of the silica surface. Isopropanol as a probe can be used to study the energy heterogeneity of the silica surface, with quantum chemical calculations demonstrating the preferred interaction of isopropanol onto silica surfaces via hydrogen bridging.