The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Tunable silica colloids are essential building blocks for catalysis, sensing, and photonic materials due to their tunability, yet the conventional Stöber method provides limited control beyond a narrow parameter space. Here, we demonstrate that introducing alkylamines to a Stöber-type TEOS sol–gel fundamentally reshapes the silica formation landscape by coupling alkylamine behavior with silicate condensation. As the alkylamine concentration is increased, the system undergoes a sequence of distinct regimes, progressing from particle-free solutions to well-defined spherical particles, and finally particle rupture above a critical threshold. Conductivity and UV–vis turbidity measurements reveal a transition in alkylamine association, and the boundaries of the particle-formation window boundaries coincide with this transition. These results preestablish a process map that directly links alkylamine self-organization to sol–gel outcomes.