Analysis Of The Crystal Structure Of Silica Extracted From Leaf Waste Using XRD (X-Ray Diffraction)

Abstract

This study aims to determine the crystal structure of silica extracted from waste bamboo leaves, corn leaves, cymbopogon nardus redle leaves, cymbopogon citratus leaves and sugarcane leaves. This research method is experimental, involving the independent variable is the leaf type and the dependent variable is the silica crystal structure. The leaves are washed, dried and cut into small pieces before being ashes. Leaf ashed was carried out at a temperature about 350oC-400oC for 5 hours. The result of leaf ash are leached by mixing 10 g of leaf ash and 120 mL of 5M HCL which was homogenized with a hot plate magnetic stirrer at a temperature of 110 oC for 3 hours with a stirring speed of 240 rpm, then filtered with whattman 41 and precipitated to a neutral pH and then filtered again, then dried in an oven at a temperature of 105 oC for 2 hours. To determine te crystal structure of silica, the samples were characterized using XRD and obtained corn leaves and sugarcane leaves ash have an amorphous structure with an alloy of quarts phase, bamboo leaves have an amorphous structure, cymbopogon nardus redle leaves and cymbopogon citratus leaves have an amorphous structure with at tridymite phase alloy. So it can be concluded that these leaves are a source of silica.

Keywords

• Silica structure
• extraction
• leaf waste
• XRD