Abstract:
Synthetic zeolites are used commercially more often than natural zeolites due to the purity of
crystalline products and the uniformity of particle sizes. With the properties of synthetic zeolite, that can
employ wide a variety of applications in comparatively natural occurrence. The synthesis of nano zeolites
has received much attention in the past decade because those can have different of properties than their
microscale counterparts. As usual, the reduction of particle size from the micro level to the nanometre
scale can change several chemical and physical properties. However, due to the high cost of production
and non-recyclable organic templates, this study aims to optimize the production process of nano zeolite-
A, synthetic zeolite with the anionic surfactant of sodium dodecyl sulfate as a site directing agent under
contrasting laboratory conditions. For that, microwave-assisted synthesis was performed under different
conditions such as different time intervals, aging conditions as well as different temperatures. In order to
achieve nano zeolite-A and after the purification, samples were subjected to characterization for structural
determination. The Furrier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanned electron microscopy (SEM),
Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) were employed as a
sample characterization. Results reveal that the process cycle one and two (Aging: 2 – 3 days at 40-50 °C,
crystallization: 3 hours at 100 - 110 °C) was towards zeolite-A and third towards the formation of sodalite.
While the cycle two conditions (Aging: 3 days at 40 °C and crystallization: 3 hours at 110 °C) was the most
effective for nano zeolite-A production and XRD, SEM results of cycle two was emphasized the optimize
production of nano Zeolite-A with 300-310nm size crystals. Furthermore, above results revealed that
surfactant-based zeolite synthesis would be potentially important and viable option for nano zeolite-A
synthesis.
