ABSTRACT
In1956GerhardKolbe(1)publishedthefirstresultsthatshowedthatspherical silicaparticlescouldbeprecipitatedfromtetraethoxysilaneinalcoholsolutionswhen ammoniawaspresentasthecatalyzingbase.Severalyearslater,in1968,Smber, Fink,andBohn(2)continuedinthisresearchareaandpublishedthefrequentlycited ''original''articleforthepreparationofmonodispersedsilicaparticlesformalkoxide solutions.Stoberetal.improvedtheprecipitationprocessanddescribedtheformationofexceptionallymonodispersedsilicaparticles.Thefinalparticlesizecouldbe controlledoverawiderangefromabout50nmto11/2f.Lm.Variationsofthe particlesizecouldbeachievedbydifferentmeans,e.g.,temperature,waterand ammoniaconcentration,typeofalcohol(solvent),TEOS(tetraethoxysilane)concentration,ormixingconditions.
