Synthesis and Characterization of Nickel Nitrate As Additive Into SiO 2 Matrix by Supercritical Drying Method

In current report, the investigation of synthesis of silica aerogel composite by reinforcing metal oxide particle nickel nitrate hexahydrate [Ni (NO3)2.6H2O)] as a filler into SiO2 matrix. In silica matrix with the help of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS),ethanol and oxalic acid catalyst ,using sol-gel technique followed by high temperature(N2 gas) solvent extraction with supercritical drying technique. The obtained aerogel doped with nickel nitrate display a well developed porous structure, excellent physical properties with less volume shrinkage, extremely high specific surface area (794.3 m²/g), average pore size of 240 nm. The aerogel composite possessed a BET specific surface area even after calcinations of 500oC for 4 hours by maintaining the pore shrinkage with the supporting skeletons nickel nitrate contents. The cross-linked aerogel composite, structural and physical properties were investigated by XRD (X-ray diffraction), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier- transform infrared-spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) and BJH nitrogen gas adsorption-desorption.