Solution‐Phase Synthesis of Silica Fibers and Their Use in Making Transparent High‐Strength Silica‐Polymer Composites.

A solution‐phase synthesis of silica fibers is demonstrated. Silica fibers with length up to 50 μm and diameter ≈ 300 nm were synthesized. Fiber structure was characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET) surface area analysis, and Barrett‐Joyner‐Halenda (BJH) pore size and volume analysis. Fiber reinforced polymer composite films were made and investigated to demonstrate the use of these fibers as a reinforce material. A polymer composite film having 6% of silica fibers showed 38% and 16% increase in the Young's modulus and the yield point, respectively, when compared to the Young's modulus and yield point of the polymer alone. Composite films had quite good visible transmittance (>90%). A new solution‐phase synthesis strategy with a potential to provide large quantity of long silica fibers is presented. The fibers were almost solid and did not contain much porosity. The fibers were also employed to make transparent and high‐strength fiber‐polymer composite films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]