I want to prepare silica powder and I don't know how. Can we prepare silica powder from silica gel used to protect electronic equipment from moisture? How pure is silica gel? If not what industries uses silica powder? I want to buy some.
Dear Dr. Amrit Karki ,
I apologize but if you want to protect electronic equipments from humidity I don't understand why not use silica gel that works very well,. in special boxes or suitably packaged.
Silica gel is an amorphous and porous form of silicon dioxide (silica), consisting of an irregular tridimensional framework of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms with nanometer-scale voids and pores. The voids may contain water or some other liquids, or may be filled by gas or vacuum. In the last case, the material is properly called silica xerogel. Silica xerogel with an average pore size of 2.4 nanometers has a strong affinity for water molecules and is widely used as a desiccant. It is hard and translucent, but considerably softer than massive silica glass or quartz; and remains hard when saturated with water.
Silica xerogel is usually commercialized as coarse granules or beads, a few millimeters in diameter. Some grains may contain small amounts of indicator substance that changes color when they have absorbed some water. Small paper envelopes containing silica xerogel pellets, usually with a "do not eat" warning, are often included in dry food packages to absorb any humidity that might cause spoilage of the food (Wikipedia source).
Best regards, Pierluigi Traverso
Dear Pierluigi Traverso,
Thank you for your reply. You got me wrong here. I don't want silica gel to be powdered for the same purpose its being used now. I want to add silica as addative in polymer matrix and I need silica in powder form.
Dear. Dr. Amrit Karki,
I am sorry if I have not interpreted your question well. For your need, as an additive in the electronic field, for safety, I would refer to a certified product. You can find (and evaluate the related costs) high purity quartz sand (that is also named as silica sand, silica powder, and silica dioxide powder) at AdValue Technologies at the following link: https://www.advaluetech.com/products/chemical-materials/high-purity-quartz-sand?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_uOPy8WL6gIV2-7tCh3H-wa-EAMYASAAEgJ4kPD_BwE
Best regards, Pierluigi Traverso
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