Synthesis of Porous Silica via Styrene Natural Rubber Sacrificial Template

Synthesis of porous silica via styrene natural rubber sacrificial template is investigated. This research is divided into three steps which are synthesis of Styrene Natural Rubber (SNR), SNR/silica film formation and formation of porous silica. The synthesis of SNR is obtained via emulsion polymerization which involves styrene as monomer and Deproteinized Natural Rubber (DPNR) latex as based materials. SNR is used as sacrificial template to produce porous silica. The amount of silica loading and mixing method were varied during formation of SNR/silica film. Calcination is use to completely remove styrene and latex, leaving behind a new material with porous structure. It was found that the increasing of silica loading will enhanced the porosity of the structure and the best mixing method can be obtained using shaker instead of mechanical stirrer and magnetic stirrer. The porous structure can be observed via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).