I remember a thread from a few days ago that tied tptb to a lab here in Il and also to a company called Nalco that specializes in clean water tech. Again here in Il.

[link to www.solgel.com] Chemical Company
Nalco colloidal silicas are stable dispersions of nanometer size silica particles in water or other liquid medium. Colloidal silica particle sizes range from four to 100 nanometers in diameter. These sub-micron-sized spheres provide very large surface areas, up to 750 square meters per gram of silica solids, which can dramatically impact the binding and reinforcing properties of many organic or inorganic systems