(Phys.org)—Zeolite is a Greek word that literally means a boiling stone. They are porous materials used as adsorbents,catalysts, and as ion-exchangers, and used for water filtration,detergents, and air separation, and among other things. Typically zeolites are made in the laboratory using a sol-gel process that involves baking the alumino silicate mixture in an oven for several days. While the crystallization process involves bond formation,breakage, and re-formation, and the details of this mechanism are largely unknown.
Source: phys.org