Spherical and lamellar octadecylsilane hybrid silicas

Silicas bearing different contents of octadecylsilane groups were synthesized by the sol–gel method and characterized by solid-state magic angle spin 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy, small angle X-ray scattering, laser light scattering and atomic force microscopy. A structural model for such hybrid materials is proposed in which spherical or lamellar morphology, fern-like or Porod’s structure, are proposed depending on the tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS)/octadecylsilane (ODS) molar ratio. The effect of the ODS addition time on the chain conformation and on the particle morphology and texture was also investigated. The degree of organization lowered as the amount of ODS increased. The nanostructured xerogel obtained in the case of pure TEOS evolutes from spherical to lamellar patterns, as the amount of octadecylsilane is increased.