In-situ studies of the hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites using synchrotron energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction

Abstract

Abstract Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction has been used to monitor, for the first time in situ, the hydrothermal synthesis of sodalite and zeolite A from kaolinite and from an amorphous aluminosilicate gel respectively. The synthesis can be undertaken and monitored using a previously described hydration cell with appropriate modifications. The penetrating power of the wiggler synchrotron radiation and the superior pattern capture rate available with energy-dispersive diffraction are both essential elements of the method. Additional modifications currently being applied to the “In-situ hydrothermal cell” should now enable the kinetics of a wider range of zeolite syntheses to be studied.