Crystallization behavior of zeolite beta from acid-leached metakaolin

Abstract

Well-crystallized zeolite beta was synthesized by using acid-leached metakaolin as the silica-alumina source and tetraethylammonium hydroxide structure-directing agent. The influence of the composition of the reaction mixture on product crystallinity was investigated, and the crystallization process was studied by examining solid samples obtained at different synthesis times. Results showed that the acid-leached metakaolin was fully converted into soluble aluminum and silicon species, which is crucial for the formation of well-crystallized zeolite beta. At the beginning of the crystallization process, these soluble aluminum and silicon species formed a aluminum-rich intermediate structure with layer morphology. With the crystallization proceeding, more silicon species were incorporated into the zeolite beta framework and the layered structure was changed into spherical particles of zeolite beta with high SiO2/Al2O3 ratio and crystallinity. © 2010 China University of Petroleum (Beijing) and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.