Characterization of synthesized A-zeolite - Simultaneous thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and ICP-chemical analysis

Confirmations of the successful synthesis of a particular zeolite demand investigation of the crystals by XRD, SEM, MAS-NMR and chemical analysis. In this work, we have used the DTA exothermic lattice breakdown of the A-zeolite, which gives typical peaks at around 900-1200°C for characterization. The effects of pH, concentration, time of crystallization and temperature were studied and it was quickly and easily possible to distinguish A-zeolite formation from others originating from the synthesis matrix under different conditions by using DTA/TG analyses. The parameters were optimized for the synthesis of the zeolite and DTA measurements yielded enough information to identify the A-zeolite; this was confirmed by XRD and SEM.