Synthesis of Silicalite-1 Nanoparticles and Investigating the Effect of Seeding Steps on the Seeded Supports in Order to Prepare High Quality Zeolite Membrane

In the present investigation, nanosized silicalite-1 powder was first synthesized as a seed with mean diameter of 40 nm by the hydrothermal method. Seeding of nanosized zeolite crystals on the support surface is one of key steps in the secondary growth synthesis method. Therefore, in order to increase the quality of the zeolite membrane, subsequent seeding steps were investigated by dip-coating technique. The seeded supports and silicalite-1 nanoparticles were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), N2-BET adsorption/desorption isotherm,Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). Examination of the number of seeding steps showed that three subsequent seeding steps would improve the quality of seed layer.