INSITU STUDIES OF THE HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS OF ZEOLITES USING SYNCHROTRON ENERGY-DISPERSIVE X-RAY-DIFFRACTION

Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction has been used to monitor, for the first time in situ, the hydrothermal synthesis of sodalite and zeolite A from kaolinite and from an amorphous aluminosilicate gel respectively. The synthesis can be undertaken and monitored using a previously described hydration cell with appropriate modifications. The penetrating power of the wiggler synchrotron radiation and the superior pattern capture rate available with energy- dispersive diffraction are both essential elements of the method. Additional modifications currently being applied to the "in-situ hydrothermal cell' should now enable the kinetics of a wider range of zeolite syntheses to be studied.