Synthesis of zeolite LTA films in the presence of nucleation suppressors

The preparation of LTA zeolite films using seeding in combination with film growth in the presence of nucleation suppressors is presented. The films were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the films had columnar microstructure and that they were preferably oriented with the [111] direction perpendicular (and parallel) to the film surface. The development of preferred orientation was explained by the competitive growth model. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.