De-agglomeration of IZM-2 zeolite crystals by post-synthetic treatment

Highly intergrown nanocrystals are commonly observed in zeolite samples, and the densely packed agglomerates may result in small secondary porosity, which restricts the advantage of hierarchical structures. In this work we take IZM-2 zeolite as an example to demonstrate a post-treatment method with diluted hydrofluoric acid solution, which de-agglomerates intergrown zeolite nanocrystals and improves the secondary porosity. The treated samples preserve high crystallinity, similar framework composition and distinctively higher external surface area compared to the agglomerated ones. The results show that this treatment is an effective method for de-agglomeration of intergrown nanocrystals without affecting the original framework. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.