• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.321-329
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• 2008

Amorphous silica nanoparticles are among the most fundamental $SiO_2$ compounds, having implications in diverse geological processes and technological applications. Here, we explore structural details of amorphous silica nanoparticles with varying particle sizes (7 and 14 nm) using $^{29}Si$ and $^{1}H$ MAS NMR spectroscopy together with quantum chemical calculations to have better prospect for their size-dependent atomic structures. $^{29}Si$ MAS NMR spectra at 9.4 T resolve $Q^2,\;Q^3$ and $Q^4$ species at -93 ppm, -101 ppm, -110 ppm, respectively. The fractions of $Q^2,\;Q^3,\;O^4$ species are $7{\pm}1%,\;27{\pm}2%$, and $66{\pm}2%$ for 7 nm amorphous silica nanoparticles and $6{\pm}1%,\;21{\pm}2%$, and $73{\pm}2%$ for 14 nm amorphous silica nanoparticles. Whereas it has been suggested that $Q^2$ and $Q^3$ species exist on particles surfaces, the difference in $Q^{2}\;+\;Q^{3}$ fraction in both 7 and 14 nm particles is not significant, suggesting that $Q^2$ and $Q^3$ species could exist inside particles. $^{1}H$ MAS NMR spectra at 11.7 T shows diverse hydrogen environments, including physisorbed water, hydrogen bonded silanol, and non-hydrogen bonded silanol with varying hydrogen bond strength. The hydrogen contents in the 7nm silica nanoparticles (including water and hydroxyl groups) are about 3 times of that of 14 nm particles. The larger chemical shills for proton environments in the former suggest stronger hydrogen bond strength. The fractions of non-hydrogen bonded silanols in the 14 nm amorphous silica nanoparticles are larger than those in 7 nm amorphous silica nanoparticles. This observation suggests closer proximity among hydrogen atoms in the nanoparticles with smaller diameter. The current results with high-resolution solid-state NMR reveal previously unknown structural details in amorphous silica nanoparticles with particle size.