A shortcut to high-quality gmelinite through steam-assisted interzeolite transformation

Mechanochemical activation and steam-assisted interzeolite transformation offer a simple, fast and cost-efficient synthesis route to gmelinite (GME) zeolite. The use of faujasite (FAU) as the parent zeolite precursor facilitates the reaction and results in high yields of high-quality GME in less than 20 h under optimized conditions. The accessible porosity and amounts of stacking-faults were determined by N2 physisorption and XRD analysis, respectively. The results show that the quality of the prepared materials easily competes with GME zeolites synthesized by conventional hydrothermal synthesis, which encourages further research in this area. By changing the reaction parameters, the approach may also be used for the production of several other types of zeolites, including MOR, MFI and ANA.