Study on Preparation and Hydrophobicity of MTES Derived Silica Sol and Gel

The synthesis of hydrophobic sol by one-step sol-gel process ammonia catalyzed was investigated. The water molar ratio and catalyst molar ratio were discussed to prevent phase segregation during the hydrolysis and co-condensation of the organic and inorganic precursors. The reactant system with water molar ratio 70 could make the reaction rate of MTES slightly less than that of TEOS, so that the hydrolysis - condensation – gelling reaction with MTES and TEOS as co-precursors could be synchronously. With the increase of the MTES/TEOS molar ratio, the reaction rate of the silica sol preparation decreased, the hydrophobicity of the sol and gel increased as the molar ratio MTES/TEOS change from 0.5~4. But the hydrophobicity of the methyl-modified silica sol and gel prepared with pure MTES in the sol-gel process were slightly lower than that of the methyl-modified silica sol and gel prepared with MTES and TEOS as co-precursors.