Sustainable Synthesis of Hierarchically Porous Silicalite-1 Zeolite by Steam-assisted Crystallization of Solid Raw Materials Without Secondary Templates

Hierarchical silicalite-1 zeolites were obtained from the direct conversion of a mixture of ground solid raw materials via a steam-assisted crystallization(SAC) method without involvement of any mesoscale template. Only a trace amount of water was necessary during the crystallization, implying that the amount of water can be dramatically reduced, which still offers easy separation and high yields. The simple procedure involved only grinding and heating, which not only saves resources and energy, but also significantly reduces the discharge of eco-friendly synthesis of zeolites for practical applications. Compared to conventional bulk silicalite-1, the nanosized hierarchical zeolites with MFI structure show enhanced removal capabilities for methylene blue owing to their hierarchical porosity.