| Denitrification of Zeolite Cancrinite for the Templated Synthesis of Nanostructures | ||
| Pablo D. Duarte-Ulloa, Leonel Quiñones and Maria Martinez-Iñesta, Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Campus, PO Box 9046, Mayaguez, PR 00681 Zeolites are crystalline solids that have microporous structures; they come in a variety of compositions and dimensions as well as from natural and synthetic sources. They are commercially used mostly as absorbing material but newfangled applications are being homed world wide in order to unlock a hidden potential in the nanostructure field. Cancrinite is a synthetic zeolite that has a one dimensional pore structure. The pores of the cancrinite are occupied by host molecules that are mainly comprised of nitrate molecules (NO3) that have electronic affinity with the structure (CAN) as well as Vander Wals forces adhering them to the vacancies of the pores. To recover the pore space cancrinite has been exposed to calcination ramps, and ionic exchange has also been attempted with sodium chloride (NaCl), but surface area analysis has shown that nitrate remotion procedures have not been efficient when performed in combination or individually. Studies of the effect of UV exposition are underway in order to denitrify the cancrinite by means of photolysis. Zeolite samples are being analyzed with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and surface area analysis in order to help determine the efficiency of the procedure. Characterization of the cancrinite structure was done mainly through X-Ray Diffraction. Extended Abstract Status: Not Uploaded | ||