Formation of fiber-like amorphous silica structures by externally applied shear

The structure of amorphous silica determines its properties and governs its applications. Here we report the synthesis of elongated silica chains/rods on the nanometer size scale formed by the orientation of a growing silica sol. We have utilized a cationically charged synthetic organic polymer as a catalyst/template and perturbed the system by externally applied shear. It is proposed that the polymer orientation plays an important role in the formation of such morphologies.