LAUSR

Abstract In this work, highly crystalline mesoporous zeolite FAU was synthesized via a fast hydrothermal method. Conventional microporous zeolite 13X and polyethylene glycol (PEG 400) were used as seed and polymeric solubilizer agents, respectively. The results of several characterization techniques such as nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy demonstrated that obtaining well-developed zeolite crystals with mesopore size distribution of 2–10 nm could only be possible in the presence of both seeds and PEG. Seeding played a promoting role in zeolite FAU nucleation while PEG helped synthetic gel to crystallize well.