Submitted By- Jalaj Sharma CH9232

Zeolite is a crystalline, porous aluminosilicate. In the crystalline materials we call zeolites, the metal atoms (classically, silicon or aluminum) are surrounded by four oxygen anions to form an approximate tetrahedron consisting of a metal cation at the center and oxygen anions at the four apexes. The zeolitic channels (or pores) are microscopically small, and in fact, have molecular size dimensions such that they are often termed "molecular sieves". The size and shape of the channels have extraordinary effects on the properties of these materials for adsorption processes, and this property leads to their use in separation processes. Zeolite frameworks are typically anionic, and charge compensating cations populate the pores to maintain electrical neutrality. These cations can participate in ionexchange processes, and this yields some important properties for zeolites.

Nanocrystalline materials clearly manifest deviations in relation to their normal macroscopic physical states. For eg: In nanocrystalline Sn cluster, a shift in the melting point as a function of the particle size can occur.

In strongly porous crystal structure, zeolites with open pore volumes of 30-50%, nanoclusters can be formed from various materials. Here, the zeolite frame serves as a designed frame structure.
The open pores can be present in different well defined crystallographic geometry in the numerous zeolite structures, theoretically one can directly manufacture evenly structured nanoclusters from different materials with various particle sizes.

To control the size and distribution of the nanocluster, zeolites with their numerous versions of pore geometry and distributions offer very suitable host lattices for the production of various large arrangement of nanoclusters. There is a possibility to produce definite individual nanoparticles in the confinement of a zeolite pore(cage) and to regularly arrange them simultaneously in the greater numbers due to the crystal structure of the host lattice. The production of nanoclusters in the zeolite host lattices can be implemented for various metals such as Pt, Ag, Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb or oxides such as ZnO, CdO, SnO2.

Zeolites have a porous structure that can accommodate a wide variety of cations, such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and others. These positive ions are rather loosely held and can readily be exchanged for others in a contact solution. The maximum size of the molecular or ionic species that can enter the pores of a zeolite is controlled by the dimensions of the channels. These are conventionally defined by the ring size of the aperture, where, for example, the term "8-ring" refers to a closed loop that is built from 8 tetrahedrally coordinated silicon (or aluminum) atoms and 8 oxygen atoms

Commercial and domestic

Zeolites are widely used as ion-exchange beds in domestic and commercial water purification, softening, and other applications.

Petrochemical industry
Synthetic zeolites are widely used as catalyst in the petrochemical industry, for instance in fluid catalytic cracking and hydrocracking. The hydrogen form of zeolites (prepared by ion exchange) are powerful solid-state acids, and can facilitate a host of acid-catalyzed reactions, such as isomerisation, alkylation, and cracking.

Nuclear industry
Zeolites have uses in advanced reprocessing methods, where their micro-porous ability to capture some ions while allowing others to pass freely allow many fission products to be efficiently removed from nuclear waste and permanently trapped.

Heating and refrigeration

Zeolites can be used as solar thermal collectors and for adsorption refrigerators. In these applications, their high heat of adsorption and ability to hydrate and dehydrate while maintaining structural stability is exploited.

Detergents
The largest single use for zeolite is the global laundry detergent market. This amounted to 1.44 million metric tons per year of anhydrous zeolite A

Medical
Thanks to this honeycomb-like structure, zeolite works at the cellular level to trap allergens, harmful toxins, heavy metals and radioactive waste. In fact, because it is one of the few negatively charged minerals in nature, zeolites act as magnets: drawing positively charged toxins and waste to it, capturing them in its cage, and removing them safely and naturally from your body.