Development of intracrystalline mesoporosity in NH4HF2-etched NaY zeolites by surfactant-templating and its effect on toluene adsorption

Volatile organic compounds have seriously affected the natural environment and human health, and adsorption is one of the most effective method for controlling VOCs pollution. In this work, the NH4HF2-etched NaY-s-x zeolites with intracrystalline mesoporosity are obtained via the surfactant-templating process in weak base NH4OH solution. The morphology, microstructure, and toluene adsorption property of as-prepared hierarchical Y zeolites are systematically characterized. It is found that the structural and textural properties of NH4HF2-etched NaY samples are significantly changed by the simple surfactant-templated approach and the large-sized mesopores inside NH4HF2-etched NaY sample disappear to form the surfactant-templated mesoporosity with a size of ~4 nm. It is demonstrated that the intracrystalline mesoporosity obviously improves the toluene molecular adsorption properties of zeolite samples. Moreover, the mechanism of the surfactant-templating process is elucidated.