The purpose of a mineralizer is to facilitate the transport of insoluble “nutrient” to a seed crystal by means of a reversible chemical reaction.
Due to the recent developments in nanotechnology, small nanocrystals are now desired and made by hydrothermal growth with crystal size controlled by mineralizers.
Typical mineralizers are hydroxides (NaOH, KOH, LiOH), carbonates (Na2CO3) and halides (NaF, KF, LiF, NaCl, KCl, LiCl).
Typical containers are made of air-tight steel cylinders called autoclaves that can withstand high temperature and pressure.
As the concentration of Na+ increases, ionically bound material link and eventually form a network of continuous channels.
A typical recipe for the production of a zeolite includes the mineralizer, the solvent, the seed crystal, a nutrient consisting of silica (SiO2) and alumina (Al2O3), and a template.
Different zeolites can also be formed by changing the ratios of the nutrient source, the type of mineralizer or the temperature and pH of the reaction.