Synthesis of a Si-Al Gel as a Starting Material of Aluminosilicate Solids

Abstract

An aluminosilicate solid is an inorganic material that has the property of immobilizing heavy metals or radionuclides in the matrix. In this study, aluminosilicates with a Si / Al molar ratio of 0.5 was synthesized from a chemical reagent in order to produce aluminosilicate solids with a low Si / Al molar ratio, which were expected to improve the immobilization of heavy metals and radionuclides contained in the matrix. The synthesized Si-Al gel with a Si / Al molar ratio of 0.5 had little impurity content and was in an amorphous phase. In addition, the compressive strength of the aluminosilicate solid produced by the synthesized Si-Al gel showed a 5 MPa or more, confirming that it can be used as a raw material for aluminosilicate solids. The aluminosilicate solid with a Si/Al molar ratio of 1.25 had a dense surface structure from the result of BSE images and had the highest compressive strength among all samples.