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Synthesis of α‑Quartz with Controlled Properties for the Investigation of the Molecular Determinants in Silica Toxicology
journal contribution
posted on 2016-03-03, 00:00 authored by Linda Pastero, Francesco Turci, Riccardo Leinardi, Cristina Pavan, Marco MonopoliMany
experimental studies about the harmful effects of crystalline
silica on human health are present in the literature. However, the
relationship between toxicological properties and surface functionalities
of quartz is not yet fully explained because of the large intrinsic
variability of natural samples. Specific surface properties are related
to the surface structure: this implies that a reliable constraint
on the crystal growth morphologies is necessary in order to control
the behavior variability. With a view to understanding this relationship,
a consistent, clean, and easy way to crystallize quartz is proposed.
In this paper, α-quartz crystals with controlled morphology
and properties were prepared by an unusual and accurate approach under
mild hydrothermal conditions (200 °C, autogenic pressure) starting
from silica gels prepared with different polymerizing agents. Gels
and synthetic crystals were characterized using a wide range of experimental
techniques: elemental analysis by ICP-OES, X-ray powder diffraction
and Rietveld analysis, SEM and HR-TEM microscopies, BET surface analysis,
differential centrifugal sedimentation, and FT-IR spectroscopy. Results
are discussed in the light of the crystal growth mechanisms involved.
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Keywords
autogenic pressureBET surface analysiscrystal growth mechanismstoxicological propertiesRietveld analysisSilica ToxicologyMolecular Determinantscrystal growth morphologiesSEMrelationshipSpecific surface propertiessurface functionalitiespolymerizing agentsbehavior variabilityControlled Propertiessurface structure