The Early Stages of Zeolite Formation from Gels to Crystals Followed by Neutron Scattering

The formation mechanisms of solids with extended structures remain poorly understood but are of increasing importance for ‘design’ of new materials in many fields. This is a pressing need given the range of solid-state materials for many contemporary areas of relevance to energy (batteries, fuel cells, photovoltaics), the environment (pollutant adsorbents), green manufacture of chemicals (catalysts) and electronics (dielectrics, magnetics and optical materials). The need to understand crystallisation is greater than ever: to guide the preparation of optimised materials tuned for application, and discovery of new phases. Here, we will use a new in situ reaction cell to follow the formation of adsorbent materials to track their assembly from chemicals to crystals. Neutrons are highly penetrating to ‘see’ inside a reaction vessel and are also sensitive to the location and role of water.