Characterization of Zeolite in Zeolite-Geopolymer Hybrid Bulk Materials Derived from Kaolinitic Clays

Zeolite-geopolymer hybrid materials have been formed when kaolin was used as a starting material. Their characteristics are of interest because they can have a wide pore size distribution with micro- and meso-pores due to the zeolite and geopolymer, respectively. In this study, Zeolite-geopolymer hybrid bulk materials were fabricated using four kinds of kaolinitic clays (a halloysite and three kinds of kaolinite). The kaolinitic clays were first calcined at 700 °C for 3 h to transform into the amorphous aluminosilicate phases. Alkali-activation treatment of the metakaolin yielded bulk materials with different amounts and types of zeolite and different compressive strength. This study investigated the effects of the initial kaolinitic clays on the amount and types of zeolite in the resultant geopolymers as well as the strength of the bulk materials. The kaolinitic clays and their metakaolin were characterized by XRD analysis, chemical composition, crystallite size, ²⁹Si and ²⁷Al MAS NMR analysis, and specific surface area measurements. The correlation between the amount of zeolite formed and the compressive strength of the resultant hybrid bulk materials, previously reported by other researchers was not positively observed. In the studied systems, the effects of Si/Al and crystalline size were observed. When the atomic ratio of Si/Al in the starting kaolinitic clays increased, the compressive strength of the hybrid bulk materials increased. The crystallite size of the zeolite in the hybrid bulk materials increased with decreasing compressive strength of the hybrid bulk materials.