Silica gel is a granular, vitreous, porous form of silicon dioxide made synthetically from sodium silicate. Silica gel contains a nano-porous silica microstructure suspended inside a liquid. Most applications of silica gel require it to be dried, in which case it is called silica xerogel.
Silica gel is a highly porous material and is an amorphous form of silicon dioxide (SiO2) that is widely used as a desiccant and adsorbent in various industrial processes and applications. This versatile material has exceptional adsorption capacity, is chemically inert, and can efficiently control humidity from its surroundings. Silica gel has a large internal surface area, ranging from 400 to 600 square meters per gram, allowing it to effectively adsorb and hold water vapor and can adsorb up to 40% of its own weight in water, making it an excellent desiccant.
