I made silica particles from TEOS (tetra-ethyl orthosilicate), which was dissolved in plenty of ethanol and gelled by adding ammonia water. The silica particles are spherical with < ~ 0.3 micrometer in diameter and could suspend in ethanol for a long time. Previously, I was patient enough to wait for 2-3 weeks to let it settled to the bottom of the beaker. Then, I syringed away the clear solution in the upper part and dried the bottom part in an oven to get the solid particles. Recently, I have a strong feeling that there must be a better way. So, I try. Centrifuging is certainly a good way. Unfortunately, the machine is broken at this moment. Filtration is also possible. But it is quite slow because the particles are so small. The filter membrane needs to have small openings. Adjusting the pH by adding nitric acid in order to manipulate the electrical double layer and coagulate. But this seems not woking, maybe because of the low dielectric constant of ethanol. The last method occurs to me is to add some kind of polymer or surfactant. But I do not have any idea of which kind.
Does anyone have similar experience? What is the best way to get those silica spheres out of ethanol? Thanks.