Preparation of nano-silica materials: The concept from wheat straw

In this paper, amorphous hydrated silica in Gramineae plant, named as phytoliths, was extracted and investigated from wheat straw. Porous nano-structured silica was prepared from agricultural waste materials through combustion and acid leaching. The results show that: i) the phytoliths in epidermal cells of wheat straw are round with a diameter of 14–22 μm, while those in trachea are oblong with a length of 18–40 μm and a width of 12–18 μm. These different phytoliths are all core–shell structures with the silica shell and the organism core of the plant cells; ii) The distribution of particle size, surface area, pore diameter and pore volume of nano-structured silica samples decreases with the increase of calcining temperature, and at a higher temperature, some agglomerates are formed. The results of this work are useful for scientists pursuing new synthetic route for valuable and widely applicable nanoscale silica materials, also helping to solve disposal and pollution problems.