Sustainable and efficient synthesis of nanosized EMT zeolites under solvent-free and organotemplate-free conditions

Abstract

Abstract In this work, we show sustainable and efficient synthesis of nanosized EMT zeolite under organotemplate-free and solvent-free conditions, which not only completely avoids the use of organic templates for production of NOx and CO2 but also effectively reduces the formation of polluted water. In addition, the yield of EMT zeolite is significantly enhanced by this route, compared with conventional hydrothermal synthesis. The nanosized EMT zeolite obtained has good crystallinity, uniform crystal size distribution, and high surface area. Ion-exchange tests show that the nanosized EMT zeolite owes high Ca2+ and Mg2+ ion exchange capacity at room temperature, which is potentially important for softening hard water in the industrial processes. Catalytic tests in Knoevenagel condensation show that the nanosized EMT zeolite exhibits higher activity than that of the EMT zeolite synthesized using organic template, indicating the importance of the nanosized EMT zeolite as a base catalyst.