Controlling Nucleation Pathways in Zeolite Crystallization: Seeding Conceptual Methodologies for Advanced Materials Design

A core objective of synthesizing zeolites for widespread applications is to produce materials with properties and corresponding performances that exceed conventional counterparts. This places an impetus on elucidating and controlling processes of crystallization where one of the most critical design criteria is the ability to prepare zeolite crystals with ultrasmall dimensions to mitigate the deleterious effects of mass transport limitations. At the most fundamental level, this requires a comprehensive understanding of nucleation to address this ubiquitous materials gap. This Perspective highlights recent methodologies to alter zeolite nucleation by using seed-assisted protocols and the exploitation of interzeolite transformations to design advanced materials. Introduction of crystalline seeds in complex growth media used to synthesize zeolites can have wide-ranging effects on the physicochemical properties of the final product. Here we discuss the diverse pathways of zeolite nucleation, recent breakthroughs in seed-assisted syntheses of nanosized and hierarchical materials, and shortcomings for developing generalized guidelines to predict synthesis outcomes. We offer a critical analysis of state-of-the-art approaches to tailor zeolite crystallization wherein we conceptualize whether parallels between network theory and zeolite synthesis can be instrumental for translating key findings of individual discoveries across a broader set of zeolite crystal structures and/or synthesis conditions.