Hydrophobic silica xerogels containing trimethylsilyl (TMS) and dimethylsilyl (DMS) organic hydrophobic functional groups were synthesized using waterglass as the starting material. Five types of hydrophobic silica xerogels with varying surface coverages of the TMS and DMS groups were synthesized by changing the molecular structure of siloxane, which was used to introduce the hydrophobic moieties into the hydrogel and to investigate the resultant surface structures and thermal characteristics. The results revealed that the relative area of silica xerogels was smaller with a higher coverage of DMS groups. In addition, the thermal decomposition temperature of the silyl group shifted to higher temperatures, and the weight reduction during heating was also relatively limited in the above samples.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.