Yerba Mate as a Co-Precursor in the Synthesis of Silica Through the Sol-Gel Technique

Abstract

The sol-gel method opened a new synthesis route at room temperature, since it allows controlling the properties of a material obtained from very pure liquid precursors, so that it meets the necessary characteristics to be used as a selective membrane. In the present work, solids are developed whose active phase is formed by silicon oxides in conjunction with bio-molecules present in the plant matrices used as a source of biomass, specifically from yerba mate. The evaluation through photographic monitoring of the yerba mate stages made it possible to establish when a plant material could be considered discarded due to its appearance or organoleptic character. Likewise, photographic monitoring made it possible to monitor the degree of solidification suffered by the silica obtained in the presence of the bio-waste used. Furthermore, the contribution in the use of spectral techniques such as FTIR provides a specific overview of the properties of the material obtained.