TY - JOUR
T1 - Growth of zeolites A and X in low earth orbit
AU - Warzywoda, Juliusz
AU - Baç, Nurcan
AU - Jansen, Jacobus C.
AU - Sacco, Albert
N1 - Funding Information:
Thanks are extended to NASA through Battelle and Clarkson University CCDS for funding, to Teledyne Brown Engineering for the furnace fabrication, to Intek, Inc. for the design and building of the control system, and to the crews of USML-1, Spacehab-1, and USML-2 for the great job they did in orbit. In addition, thanks are extended to Mr. G.P. Ferraro and the graduate and undergraduate students of Worcester Polytechnic Institute who worked on this project. Ms. L. McCauley and Mr. R. Whitmore of Battelle deserve special thanks for their support.
PY - 2000/11/15
Y1 - 2000/11/15
N2 - Zeolites A and X were grown hydrothermally in the microgravity environment (10-3-10-6 g) of the space shuttle. It was hypothesized that this quiescent environment would lead to a means of producing `large' zeolite crystals having a high degree of crystalline perfection, and/or to a means of controlling defect concentration and location. Zeolite crystallizations have been carried out on four separate space shuttle missions: STS-40, USML-1, Spacehab-1, and USML-2. Preliminary results (STS-40) indicated that premixed solutions produced equal-sized intergrown crystals, and suggested that a `pre-nucleation' process had occurred before launch. All successive crystallizations were performed by mixing the precursor solutions on orbit. When nucleation was controlled using the aluminum complexing agents triethanolamine or 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-2,2′,2″-nitrilotriethanol, crystals synthesized in microgravity were approximately 25-70% larger in linear dimension compared to their ground-based controls. The crystals grown in orbit had different nucleation/growth histories as indicated by their particle size distributions (PSDs). They frequently had different morphology (i.e., prominence of the {110} faces on zeolite A grown on earth vs. those grown in orbit) than did crystals grown from identical solutions, identically processed on earth. Based on the volume-normalized PSDs, approximately 15-40% fewer nuclei for zeolite A and approximately 40-60% fewer nuclei for zeolite X were observed in orbit.
AB - Zeolites A and X were grown hydrothermally in the microgravity environment (10-3-10-6 g) of the space shuttle. It was hypothesized that this quiescent environment would lead to a means of producing `large' zeolite crystals having a high degree of crystalline perfection, and/or to a means of controlling defect concentration and location. Zeolite crystallizations have been carried out on four separate space shuttle missions: STS-40, USML-1, Spacehab-1, and USML-2. Preliminary results (STS-40) indicated that premixed solutions produced equal-sized intergrown crystals, and suggested that a `pre-nucleation' process had occurred before launch. All successive crystallizations were performed by mixing the precursor solutions on orbit. When nucleation was controlled using the aluminum complexing agents triethanolamine or 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)-2,2′,2″-nitrilotriethanol, crystals synthesized in microgravity were approximately 25-70% larger in linear dimension compared to their ground-based controls. The crystals grown in orbit had different nucleation/growth histories as indicated by their particle size distributions (PSDs). They frequently had different morphology (i.e., prominence of the {110} faces on zeolite A grown on earth vs. those grown in orbit) than did crystals grown from identical solutions, identically processed on earth. Based on the volume-normalized PSDs, approximately 15-40% fewer nuclei for zeolite A and approximately 40-60% fewer nuclei for zeolite X were observed in orbit.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034322694&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0022-0248(00)00659-X
DO - 10.1016/S0022-0248(00)00659-X
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0034322694
VL - 220
SP - 140
EP - 149
JO - Journal of Crystal Growth
JF - Journal of Crystal Growth
SN - 0022-0248
IS - 1-2
ER -