What is the difference between colloidal silica and silica sol?

Sometimes referred to as a sol or silica sol, colloidal silica consists of a stable dispersion amorphous silica particles. To achieve this, the silica particles must be small enough such that they are largely unaffected by gravity. Therefore, silica particle sizes are usually of the order of less than 100 nanometres.

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The term colloid refers to the suspension, where the sols are the tiny discrete particles in suspension.

Colloidal silica&#;s can be manufactured from materials such as sodium silicate and are usually available in varying concentrations to suit various applications.

Applications

Applications areas include:

&#;         Refractories

&#;         High temperature binders

&#;         Investment casting - used in moulds

&#;         An abrasive - for polishing silicon wafers

&#;         Carbonless paper

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&#;         Catalysts

&#;         Abrasion resistant coatings

&#;         Increasing friction - used to coat waxed floors, textile fibres and railway tracks to promote traction

&#;         Antisoiling &#; fills micropores to prevent take up of dirt and other particles into textiles

&#;         Surfactant &#; used for flocculating, coagulating, dispersing, stabilising etc

&#;         Absorbent

Of all the oxide minerals in the Earth&#;s crust, silicon dioxide, or silica, is the most abundant. It is present in not only in combination with other oxide minerals but also in its isolated forms such as sand. The semi-precious mineral opal is a form of amorphous silica that has been prized for centuries.

Besides being the most abundant mineral on the Earth, it is also very important to life on our planet. Diatoms, a type of phytoplankton forming the base of the ocean&#;s food chain, have skeletons composed of silica.  Many plants use silica to stiffen stems for holding fruit and to form external needles for protection. The role of silica is less obvious in animals, but each one of us contains about half a gram of silica &#; without which our bones, hair, and teeth could not be formed.

Not only does silica play an important role in biology, it had played an important role in civilization. Flint is a form of silica that was used in ancient tools.The sand used in pottery is also a form of silica. Two-thousand year-old Roman cement contains amorphous silica from volcanic ash which helps give it high strength and durability. Present technology would be very different without the silica used to create the catalysts of our oil refineries, bind the molds for casting super-alloys, form modern glass and ceramics, and polish electronic materials.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of modified silica sol. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.