Kinetics of hydrothermal synthesis of Li-A(BW) from metakaolinite by time resolved synchrotron diffraction

This work deals with the synthesis of Li-A(BW), an orthorhombic zeolite with composition Li4[Al4Si4O16]·4H 2O, from thermally activated kaolinites exhibiting a different degree of stacking disorder in LiOH solution. The kinetic analysis of the data yields informations on the activation energies of the nucleation and growth processes, the related frequency factors, and the reaction mechanism which are discussed in the light of the nature of the precursor. The results should be a support to the general picture on the kinetics of synthesis of zeolites from thermally activated kaolinites drawn for the synthesis of Na-A and hydroxysodalite.