Sorption of Heavy Metal Cations on Mesoporous ZSM-5 and Mordenite Zeolites

Desilication and dealumination techniques were used to obtain mesoporous ZSM-5 and mordenite zeolites. The study provides insight into specific structural, textural, and sorption properties of obtained materials with different Si/Al ratios. Subsequent dealumination and desilication procedures were found to be efficient methods of generating a secondary system of mesopores in mordenite and ZSM-5 crystals while preserving their microporous character. The investigated materials were evaluated in terms of their sorption properties of selected heavy metal cations (Cd(2+), Cr(3+), and Pb(2+)). Particular emphasis was placed on the structural examination of the materials via infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Other research methods included X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS).