Rapid synthesis of zeolites through g-C₃N₄-based photocatalysis

Zeolites are widely applied in environmental catalysis. They are well known for the long production time at elevated temperature. In this research, photocatalysis has been introduced for the first time into zeolite chemistry to realize an efficient production of Na-A and NaZ-21 zeolites within 8 hours at room temperature. During the synthesis process, g-C₃N₄ was employed as a visible light photocatalyst, which significantly increased the concentration of hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) and associated superoxide radicals (˙O₂⁻) in the basic media. Both reactive oxygen species (ROS) contributed to the fast synthesis of the zeolite by accelerating Si-O (Al-O) bond breaking and reforming. The research findings have paved a new way for the ROS-dominant fast and green synthesis of zeolites for environmental application.