Abstract
It has previously been reported that the surface composition of various zeolites is quite different from that of the bulk (1,2) as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The selectivity of a zeolite for a particular catalytic reaction may be strongly influenced by the surface chemical composition. Consequently, we have studied the elemental surface composition of various single crystalline and powdered natural and synthetic zeolites using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Quantitative analyses were performed using peak-to-peak heights from conventional derivative spectra of zeolites A, X, Y, and ZSM-5. Auger depth profiles of single-crystal natural zeolites were obtained using 1 keV Ar + ion sputtering to compare surface and bulk compositions. Electron dose effects were studied to assess the extent of beam damage during analysis. Our results indicate that the surface silicon-aluminum ratio (Si/Al) for the zeolites invesitgated is very similar to that of the bulk in contrast to the XPS studies.
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