Assembly of wormhole aluminosilicate mesostructures from zeolite seeds

Abstract

Aluminosilicate mesostructures (Si/Al = 1.6–49) with wormhole framework structures were assembled from protozeolitic nanoclusters (zeolite seeds) that normally nucleate the crystallization of faujasite (FAU), zeolite ZSM-5 (MFI) and zeolite Beta (BEA). The cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium, the electrically neutral surfactant dodecylamine and the small molecule triethanolamine all are effective structure directors for the assembly of wormhole frameworks from zeolite seeds. The resulting aluminosilicate mesostructures exhibit high textural porosity, hydrothermal stability toward boiling water and 20% steam at 800 °C, and acidity for catalytic cumene cracking. That is, the amine and onium ion structure directors used to template a wormhole framework structure do not compromise the benefits provided by the zeolite seeds.