Lijun Teng

SYNTHESIS OF WELL-CRYSTALLIZED ZEOLITE BETA AT LARGE SCALE AND ITS INCORPORATION INTO POLYSULFONE MATRIX FOR GAS SEPARATION

Using a silica source with high specific surface area, aluminum zeolite beta was successfully synthesized in a very short crystallization period through the conventional hydrothermal route. The obtained materials were characterized by means of XRD, TEM, FESEM, EDS, TGA/DTG, and N2 adsorption/desorption techniques. It is found that the well-crystallized zeolite beta can be rapidly synthesized at 170°C in 9 h and the highly porous silica source used could be completely converted into zeolite beta. No difference results from the silica source used. Moreover, through this synthesis route, it is also possible to conveniently obtain zeolite beta at high yield for manufacturing composite membranes for gas separations. The gas permeation tests show that the incorporation of porous zeolite beta into a polymer has modified the gas permeation properties significantly, indicating industrial application potential of this new type of composite material.