Ultrafast, OSDA-free synthesis of mordenite zeolite

We present herein an ultrafast, organic structure-directing agent (OSDA)-free synthesis of mordenite zeolite in a tubular reactor capable of fast heating. Using a typical Na2O/SiO2/Al2O3 system, the synthesis time was shortened to 10 min, which is much shorter than the time required by conventional methods (tens of hours). The addition of milled seeds, which have a smaller crystal size (200 nm), was found to be more effective in enhancing the crystallization than the micrometer-sized raw seeds (2 μm). The fast-synthesized mordenite possesses properties similar to those of mordenite synthesized by conventional methods in terms of crystallinity while having a comparably small crystal size. In addition, the effects of the alkalinity and SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of the initial reactant mixture on the crystallization rate were evaluated, but no significant effects were observed. On the contrary, the yield and SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of the product were dependent on the alkalinity and SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of the initial reactant mixture. Based on these observations, the crystallization behavior of mordenite, obtained from an ultrafast, OSDA-free synthesis method, is discussed.