EAGER: Synthesis of New Ferrolites: Zeolites Containing an All-Iron Framework The First of a New Family of Transition Metal Based Zeolites?

University Of South Carolina At Columbia, Columbia SC

Investigators

Abstract

The development of new materials is an important aspect of solid-state chemistry research, where the use of very high temperature liquids to grow crystals of desired new materials can lead to both the improvement of existing and the creation of new devices, such as new batteries or new permanent magnets. With the support of the Solid State and Materials Chemistry, this research project focuses on the preparation of new types of zeolites, a class of microporous, crystalline materials consisting of silicon, aluminum and oxygen that both occur naturally and are synthesized industrially on a very large scale to satisfy the widespread demand for their use in catalysis applications. This project details the development of a new class of zeolites that contain iron instead of aluminum and silicon. These iron-based zeolites can be utilized as catalysts for industry, as new magnetic materials for sustainable energy creation, and as new cathode materials for sodium batteries. To accomplish these tasks, undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are being trained in cutting-edge techniques for synthesizing and characterizing these materials using state of the art instrumentation. The educational aspect of this research assures that highly trained men, women, and underrepresented minorities can enter the workforce and meet industry's need for scientists. Using the first sodalite-type zeolite containing an all iron framework as a model, the hydroflux synthetic method developed in the zur Loye group is applied to the synthesis of new iron-based framework materials that can impact a large number of research areas ranging from simple catalytic materials, to new magnetic materials, to new sodium ion batteries for stationary power storage. The synthetic objective is the compositional and structural expansion of the crystal chemistry of zeolites, specifically synthesis of ferrolites crystallizing in new framework structures via new synthetic routes. The optimized reaction conditions target the formation of new iron based frameworks, specifically the zeolite A and zeolite Y type structures, that are then investigated for their magnetic behavior and for their ability to ion exchange sodium, a necessary requirement for stationary sodium battery applications. The different frameworks are highly magnetic due to the presence of Fe-O-Fe linkages, which exert an important influence on the structure-specific magnetic behavior. Similarly, the specific framework structure, with different sized channels, is expected to greatly impact the sodium ion mobility and, thus, that optimization is important for battery applications.