Chapter 13 - Dielectric Methods of Research on Zeolites and Related Materials

Abstract

This chapter describes the dielectric methods of research on zeolites and related materials. The development of thermal methods of materials research has been an uninterrupted source of new methodologies. The chapter discusses the methodology of dielectric analysis, which is mainly used in the study of polymers and amorphous materials. The dielectric relaxation phenomena in solid materials are linked to charge movement mechanisms. In zeolites, in particular, one observes the majority of the polarization mechanisms discovered in solids. The mechanism of the dielectric relaxation process for dehydrated zeolites, in the radiofrequency range of an applied external electric field, is by charge hopping. The effect is because of small hops of cations existing in these structures between different cationic sites and is similar to the discrete orientation mechanism of dipolar polarization present in some ionic solids. The chapter also investigates the usefulness of thermodielectric methods, coupled with dielectric spectrometry—as a complementary technique for the characterization of zeolites and other materials.