Zeolite-geopolymer composite materials: Production and characterization

Abstract This study reports the production and characterization of a new class of geopolymer-zeolite materials obtained adding a commercial synthetic zeolite to a geopolymer matrix, to combine the functional micro-porosity of the zeolite with the meso-porosity of the geopolymer matrix, with the further possibility to consolidate the zeolite powder. Geopolymer-zeolite composites were produced mixing different metakaolin-based geopolymer matrices with zeolite Na13X, largely used for CO 2 adsorption. Porous monoliths, with 3-dimensional interconnected open pores, were obtained and characterized. The composites were also tested in term of CO 2 uptake, to highlight one of the possible functional properties of the new material. Composite monoliths based on Na-geopolymer matrix with Si/Al molar ratio equal to 1.2 were most promising thanks to a compressive strength of about 3 MPa, the presence of a wide range of porosity (from 5 A to 2 μm), a high specific surface area (211 m 2  g −1 ), the formation of a zeolite NaA phase, and an improved CO 2 adsorption capacity over the 50% of the expected value (3.1% vs 2.1%).

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