Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
Raman spectroscopy of the solution, solid and gel phases present during crystallization of zeolite X was investigated. The vibrational data indicate that an amorphous aluminosilicate solid, composed primarily of four membered aluminosilicate rings is in contact with monomeric silicate ions during the prenucleation stages of the zeolite formation. No intermediate building blocks specific to zeolite X could be discerned from the vibrational spectra. The influence of a series of monovalent cations on the crystallization process was also examined, and a model of zeolite formation has been proposed.