Characterization of Silica Extracted from Rice Husk Ash Wastes Doped by Tin Dioxide for Wave Guide Material

Abstract

A series of experiments is made to produce silica, mixing with tin dioxide (SnO2), and characterizing for application of waveguide device. Silica xerogels (SX) are prepared from raw materials derived from rice husks ash (RHA), which abundant in South East Sulawesi. The synthesis conditions have been optimized to obtain the ash of rice husks with the maximum silica content. SnO2 are prepared from a commercial powder. The ceramic waveguide materials are produced by mixing SX and SnO2 with various composition. The mixtures are molded to form the rectangular shape of 20 mm, 40 mm, and 5 mm in size. The samples will be sintered at different level of temperatures (from 300°C to 1200°C) by using microwave heating system as well as electric furnace. The microstructural of sintered samples were characterized on the basis of the experimental data obtained using densification measurement method (Archimedes method), crystallization (X-ray diffraction, XRD), microstructure (Scanning electron microscope, SEM). Optical and related properties such as the functional groups, structure, and absoption were characterized by using FTIR, Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy and absorption (UVVis). The permittivity and permeability will be calculated from S-parameters determined by using Vector Network Analyzer (VNA). Characterization results are presented in this paper and the others are will be published in another separated papers. Furthermore, the relationship between properties with SnO2 content and sintering temperature is also studied.