Greener synthesis of nanocrystalline ZSM-5

Nanocrystalline ZSM-5 zeolite, which is a well-known catalyst used in a variety of applications in industry, environment, and medicine, can be synthesized using different methods. However, a big challenge in synthesizing nanocrsytalline ZSM-5 is the use of an organic template such as TPAOH, which is very expensive. The template is required to facilitate the growth of the nanocrsytalline ZSM-5 during the synthesis. However, to use the nanocrsytalline ZSM-5, the template has to be removed by a calcination process to open the pores and reveal the active surface of the nanocrystalline ZSM-5. The calcination process requires a high temperature for a long time to remove the organic template. Consequently, synthesizing nanocrystalline ZSM-5 by using a templated method is considered to be time, energy, and materials inefficient. In addition, the production of CO₂ from the calcination process is a negative impact on the environment. Therefore, finding another method to synthesize nanocrystalline ZSM-5 without using an organic template would be beneficial. Here, nanocrystalline ZSM-5 was synthesized successfully in high yield and quality by using a seed-assisted method and without using the organic template. In addition, the effect of synthesis temperature, synthesis time, basic environment, amount of seeds, size of seeds, aging time, and use of calcined and uncalcined seeds are investigated in this study. The synthesized nanocrystalline ZSM-5 materials were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), gas adsorption isotherm (BET/BJH), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).