Quantification of cation-exchanged zeolites by XPS and EDS: A comparative study

Iron(II) and cesium are intercalated into zeolite L by wet impregnation. The elemental compositions of the cation-exchanged zeolite L were quantified for the first time by two different methods. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) techniques were found to be suitable for the quantification, giving reliable results. Comparing the two different methods we found a small systematic difference in the amount of extraframework cations in zeolite L. These strategies could be applied for an easy and fast quantification of cations inside porous materials.