Towards understanding the mechanism of formation of porous silicate crystals
Zeolites are porous silicates that constitute the main solid catalysts used by the chemical industry. These structurally complex solids are synthesized from aqueous solutions through a multi-stage process that involves multiple phase transitions mediated by the chemistry of polymerization of silica. Organic cations, typically tetraalkylammonium ions, are used to direct the synthesis towards specific zeolite polymorphs. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms by which the cations and silicates form the zeolites are not well understood. This presentation will discuss our current work using molecular simulations with simple models to elucidate these mechanisms and understand whether metastable mesophases could be involved in the nucleation mechanism, at which stage the pores and zeolitic order develop, and what is the smallest size of nanozeolite that can be synthesized.
