Sintesis Silika Xerogel dari Limbah Abu Terbang (Fly Ash) dengan Metode Sol-Gel

Abstract

Fly ash is waste produced from burning coal which, if not utilized, can pollute the environment. The high silica content of fly ash has the potential to be used as a raw material for making silica xerogel. Silika xerogel is silica gel that has been dried to remove the water content in the pores. Silica xerogel from fly ash can be synthesized using the sol-gel method. Based on the results of analysis using x-ray diffraction (XRF), fly ash contains 56.777% silica. The synthesized silica xerogel is a white solid with a yield of 83.221%, and the results of characterization using Fourier Transformed Infra-Red (FTIR) show the presence of silanol group (Si-OH) at wave number of 3388 cm-1 and siloxane group (Si-O- Si) at wave number of 985 cm-1.