Synthesis and characterization of hierarchically-structured zeolite Na-P

Molecular sieves are known as porous materials including carbons, oxides, zeolites and glasses etc. Among these, the most attractive candidates for industrial and agricultural applications could be referred to the zeolitic structures due to their fantastic features such as outstanding chemical and hydrothermal stability, being not toxic materials and ecofriendly compounds as well as high surface area [1-3]. In recent year, there has been many interests in the investigating synthesis strategies of hierarchical zeolites especially low-silica ones like clinoptilolite and faujasite-type zeolites owing to the positive effects of auxiliary porosity introduction into zeolite frameworks on their adsorptive and catalytic applications [4-6]. So far, preparation of zeolite P as one of the low-silica microporous materials has been studied by many authors; because it is a useful zeolitic framework to separate tiny liquid or gas molecules and remove noxious heavy metals from wastewaters. Moreover, it could be utilized in the detergent industries as builders [7,8]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there were few papers investigation the synthesis of hierarchical zeolite Na-P. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate the synthetic conditions of zeolite P formation which could be a novel sorbent in various industries.