Solid–solid transformation mechanism for nanocrystalline sodalite from pillared clay

We here report the synthesis of nanocrystalline sodalite by a solid–solid transformation from a solid gel mixture of Al2O3 pillared montmorillonite (Al2O3-PILM) and NaOH under an ambient atmosphere at 80 °C. HR-TEM clearly shows both the formation of sodalite nuclei by the solid–solid transformation of the montmorillonite matrix and the crystal growth of nanocrystalline sodalite through the rearrangement of delocalized nuclei.