Silicic and aluminum sources as raw materials of zeolite are mixed with carbon aerogel. The mixture is subjected to hydrothermal reaction for synthesis of zeolite, while an aqueous solution, which contains sodium hydroxide and tetrapropylammonium bromide, is being dropped to the mixture. After completion of the hydrothermal reaction, the zeolite-supporting aerogel is washed, dried and then heat-treated for oxidative extrusion of the carbon aerogel. Since the carbon aerogel is used as a template, the synthesized zeolite has the morphology that traces of spheroidal particles of the carbon aerogel remain as mesopores.

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Abstract:The synthesis of zeolite materials by hydrothermal transformation of natural Jordanian kaolin in NaOH solutions of various concentrations was investigated at 100 °C for 20 h. A mixture of zeolite A, quartz and hydroxysodalite (HS) was obtained. Zeolite A was the main product with the NaOH concentrations of 1.50–3.50 M, which was confirmed by XRD, IR and SEM. Zeolite A can be obtained from natural kaolin under the conditions applied showing that metakaolinization can be observed at 650 °C which is much lower than the temperatures given in the previous works, 700–950 °C. The products obtained from the experiments were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Synthesis and characterization of zeolite A by hydrothermal transformation of natural Jordanian kaolin

J of Association of Arab Universiteis for Basic and Applied Sciences,

15, pp 35-42, 2014

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1815385213000217