Characterization of Silica derived from Bamboo leaves Ash (Gigantochloa albociliata)

Bamboo leaves (Gigantochloa albociliata) is a huge agro-waste materials that available mostly in farming activities and planting management. This material as known as biomass is considered to have quite a high amount of silica. The extraction of silica from bamboo leaves ash (BLA) can be done by using sol-gel method. The silica obtained from BLA and other agro-wastes can be used for other useful purposes. The characterization of silica produced has been done by using several methods which are FTIR, XRD and SEM-EDX to analyse the chemical composition and the chemical properties along with physical properties of the silica. FTIR analysis has been done to figure out the key functional groups in the silica. One of the major chemical groups that have been found in SiO2 shows at the band 3381.25 cm-1 which is the peak was responsible for the functional of —OH groups of -Si-OH. The band shows the absorptions characteristics of the silica are strong and intense by the OH- stretching vibrations of free surface silanols. The SEM and XRD analysis somehow can prove that silica can be a good absorbent due to their wide surface and their porosity level. EDS analysis is also carried out in this study to determine the chemical compositions in some spots of the silica. The result of application of silica as moisture absorbent shows silica from BLA have good properties that allow it to absorb moisture faster than commercial silica.