Synthesis and growth of colloidal silica particles

In experimental studies on the static and dynamic properties of colloidal suspensions, it is necessary to have particles tailored with regard to their size and/or optical properties. Starting with a conventional Stöber silica and a commercial Ludox silica, we were able to grow primary particles to a predetermined size. These particles were subsequently sterically stabilized with aliphatic stearyl chains. The resulting two colloidal dispersions are relatively monodisperse (±11%) with overlapping size distributions.