Microwave-assisted Al-substituted Tobermorite Synthesis

The effect of microwave heating on the hydrothermal synthesis of Al-substituted tobermorite and the removal characteristics of resulting materials were examined and compared with the effect of conventional heating. The microwave heating reduced the crystallization time of Al-substituted tobermorite—i.e., Al-substituted tobermorite was synthesized within 80 min at around 140 °C—and produced smaller crystallites than the conventional heating. The minute crystallites were found to promote the removal characteristics for Cs⁺ ions in short reaction time.