EPSAM

I graduated from Keele University in 2012 with a Bsc (Hons) in Chemistry with Law. In September 2012 I became a research student and am currently at the end of the first year of my PhD studying synthetic materials chemistry within the Catalysis and Sustainable Materials Group (CSMG) at Keele.  

Investigation of Zeolite Synthesis Mechanisms by Solid State NMR

‌‌‌Zeolites are large microporous crystalline materials made up from silicon dioxide and aluminium oxide. They vary in size of the pores and channels that run through the material and this affects their properties and uses in different industrial applications.  Practical applications of zeolites are include their use in catalysis and as molecular sieves.

The synthesis of zeolites and other microporous materials is dependent on the inclusion of a structure directing agent within the reaction mixture. This structure directing agent is usually some organic quaternary ammonium salt, such as tetrapropylammonium cations.  Their role within the reaction mixture is to direct the formation of the silicon tetrahedra around the structure directing agent. Adapting the shape and size of this structure directing agent affects the properties of the zeolite formed and the type of zeolite formed however it is not currently possible to predict what zeolite will be formed by which structure directing agent.

The combination of solid-state NMR and the synthesis of various structure directing agents to synthesise the MFI zeolite are used in this project to determine information about the nucleation stage of zeolite formation and enable the prediction of zeolite types from different structure directing agents.