SEEDING EFFECT ON CRYSTAL GROWTH IN HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS OF LAYERED OCTOSILICATE

In the hydrothermal synthesis process of layered octosilicate ilerite, seed crystals were added to the starting solution (water glass) for control of the crystallization rate. Octosilicate platelets of 4.4 μm and their ground products with a size less than 1 μm were used as the seed. The crystallization rate increased with an increase in the additional amount of platelet seed. The crystalline products were obtained even if the seed had a relatively low crystallinity. The size of products depended strongly on both the additional amount and size of seed. When the seed-loading mass ratio of seed to the starting solution was 0.01, the crystal growth was a maximum and the size of products was about twice of that of seed. However, in the use of the ground seed, a finer product was obtained at the optimum seed-loading mass ratio due to increase in the number of seed crystals. To control crystal growth for reducing synthesis time and for obtaining crystals of a specific size, both number and size of seed crystals must be optimized because the silanol groups on the edge of seed crystals added become new reaction sites of crystallization.