SiO₂ Fibers by Centrifugal Spinning with Excellent Textural Properties and Water Adsorption Performance

Facile and innovative route for large-scale synthesis of SiO₂ fibers with excellent textural properties and H₂O adsorption performance is presented. At first, a three-dimensional network of SiO₂ precursor fibers was produced from tailored spun solutions (without any toxic elements and surfactants) by centrifugal spinning, which is a very modern fiber-synthesis technique, with numerous advantages over electrospinning. Upon thermal annealing of the precursor fibers, mesoporous amorphous SiO₂ fibers with an ultrahigh surface area of up to 824 m²/g and pore size distribution in the range of 2-10 nm were produced. Owing to the high number of OH groups available on the surface, the produced SiO₂ fibers showed significantly better performance in H₂O adsorption compared to that of the reference silicagel.