Effect of Ethanol on the Morphology and Textual Properties of ZSM-5 Zeolite

The morphology of ZSM-5 zeolite impacts the adsorption, separation and diffusion of molecules. The morphology and textural properties of ZSM-5 zeolites were adjusted by regulating the content of ethanol in the synthesis gel. When the ratio of ethanol/SiO2 was lower than 2, the obtained crystals were isolated particles. With higher ethanol concentration, the chainlike zeolite was generated due to the condensation of terminal Si-OH groups. The crystals stacked more and more compactly with the increase in ethanol concentration, resulting in decreased specific surface area, total volume and mesoporous volume. The crystal size increased gradually with the increase in the ethanol concentration. Moreover, some other small molecular alcohols could also induce the formation of chainlike morphology of ZSM-5.