Effect of Dyes on Surface Area of Zeolites From Kaolin

Synthesis of zeolite from kaolinite clay is a very promising process, requiring thorough beneficiation and calcinations to obtain purer monomer. Kaolinite clay sourced from Kankara, Nigeria is associated with inherent impurities, making its transformation rather challenging. The addition of dye, though, assisted in inhibiting the negative effects of impure phases on the desired end products and increases the nucleation growth, but it could also affect the specific surface area (s.s.a) of the as-synthesized zeolites, as well as product coloration. Specific surface area results from five types of dyes were used in this work, namely: fuchsine, malachite green, toluidine blue, methylene blue and crystal violet were compared with those obtained from ageing, alkalinity and crystallization time for the un-dyed materials. XRF, XRD, SEM and BET analytical technique were employed in monomer and products characterization. The s.s.a for products obtained investigating aging, crystallization time and alkalinity were 470m/g, 375m/g and 275m/g, respectively. The introduced dyes recorded s.s.a of 220m/g, 340m/g, 265m/g, 335m/g and 520m/g respectively, for fuchsine, malachite green, toluidine blue, methylene blue and crystal violet. The properties of the as-synthesized zeolites (especially s.s.a) were observed to correlate with the dyes’ polar surface area (psa) and its bulkiness. The dye with the lowest psa gave product with the highest s.s.a, an indication of its pore penetration capability, leading to reduce level of segregation and better crystallinity.