Study on the morphological regulation mechanism of hollow silica microsphere prepared via emulsion droplet template

The morphology regulation of hollow silica microspheres is significant for their properties and applications. In this paper, hollow silica microspheres were formed through the hydrolysis and condensation reaction of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) at the interface of the emulsion droplet templates composed of liquid paraffin and TEOS, followed by dissolving paraffin with ethanol. The effects of various factors including the emulsifier structure and content, TEOS content, catalyst type, and the ethanol content in the continuous water phase on the particle size, shell thickness and morphology of the prepared hollow silica microspheres were studied in detail. The results show that the diffusion and contact of TEOS and water molecules as well as the hydrolysis condensation reaction of TEOS at the oil-water interface are two critical processes for the synthesis and morphological regulation of hollow silica microspheres. Cationic emulsifier with a hydrophobic chain of appropriate length is the prerequisite for the successful synthesis of hollow silica microspheres. The ethanol content in water phase is the dominant factor to determine the average diameter of hollow microspheres, which can vary from 96 nm to 660 nm with the increase of the volume ratio of alcohol-water from 0 to 0.7. The silica wall thickness varies with the content and the hydrophobic chain length of the emulsifier, TEOS content, and the activity of the catalyst. The component of the soft template will affect the morphology of the silica wall. When the liquid paraffin is replaced by cyclohexane, hollow microspheres with fibrous mesoporous silica wall are fabricated. This work not only enriches the basic theory of interfacial polymerization in the emulsion system, but also provides ideas and methods for expanding the morphology and application of hollow silica microspheres.