Hydrothermal synthesis of nanocrystalline zeolite Beta by acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of teraethylorthosilicate

Abstract Nanocrystalline zeolite Beta was synthesized via the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of teraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) under static hydrothermal conditions. Various parameters, such as pH value for hydrolyzing TEOS, SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 ratio, template content, crystallization temperature and time, were investigated to obtain the suitable synthesis conditions. The produced samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, IR, ICP, surface areas, pore volumes and pore distributions. Compared with the traditional base-catalyzed hydrolysis of TEOS, the silicate precursors created by the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of TEOS are proved to be favorable to the formation of nanocrystalline zeolite Beta.