1
Molecular sieves = highly organized matrices of tunable pore shape,
size, and polarity for separation, recognition, and organization of
molecules with precision of about 1 .
detergent builders
adsorbents
size-shape selective catalysts
supramolecular chemistry
nanotechnology
Chemical composition
Silica SiO2
Aluminosilicates Mx
I
AlxSi2-xO4 . nH2O
Aluminophosphates AlPO4 (isoelectronic with Si2O4)
Metallophosphates MPO4
Silicoaluminophosphates Mx
I
SixAlP1-x O4
Zeolites and zeolitic materials
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Pores
Channels
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>40 naturally occurring zeolites
>139 structure types
many hundreds of zeolite compounds
Nomenclature www.iza-structure.org/databases
Structure types - three capital letter codes (Most well known zeolite
archetypes: SOD, LTA, FAU, MOR, MFI )
Four-connected frameworks
Interrupted frameworks (denoted by a hyphen: ­CLO, cloverite)
Structure types do not depend on: chemical composition, element
distribution, cell dimensions, symmetry
Several zeolite compounds can belong to the same structure type:
FAU ­ faujasite, Linde X, Y, Beryllophosphate-X, SAPO-37,
Zincophosphate-X
Zeolites and zeolitic materials
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Names of zeolite materials:
trivial names ­ Alpha, Beta, Rho
chemical names ­ Gallogermanate-A
mineral names ­ Chabazite, Mordenite, Stilbite, Sodalite
codes ­ AlPO4-5, 8, 11, ..., 54, ZSM-4, 18, 57, ...
brand names ­ Linde A, D, F, L, N, Q , R, T, W, X, Y
university names ­ VPI-5 (Virginia Polytechnical Institute)
Zeolites and zeolitic materials
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Primary building units: Al(III)O4, P(V)O4 and Si(IV)O4
tetrahedra
T
O
O
O
O
Zeolites and zeolitic materials
Isoelectronic relationship
(SiO2)2 [AlSiO4 ]- AlPO4
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3R 4R
6R
8R
D4R
D6R
D8R
spiro-5
5-1 5-2 5-3
2-6-2 6 1 (C6R)6-2
4-1
4=1 4-2
5R
4-4=1
Secondary (Structural) Building Units (SBU)
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Chain composite building units
(a) zig-zag unbranched single chain, periodicity of two
(b) sawtooth unbranched single chain, periodicity of three
(c) crankshaft unbranched single chain, periodicity of four
(d) natrolite branched single chain
(e) double crankshaft chain, an unbranched double chain
(f) narsarsukite chain, a branched double chain
(g) a pentasil chain
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Polyhedral
composite
building units
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Sodalite unit
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Packing of the sodalite units:
SOD ­ bcc, sharing of 4-rings
LTA ­ sc, 4-rings connected through O bridges
FAU (faujasite) ­ cubic diamond, 6-rings connected through O
bridges
EMT ­ hexagonal diamond, 6-rings connected through O bridges
Sodalite unit
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LTA
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(a) [TO4] tetrahedra as BBU
(b) four-membered single rings
(c) lB fuenfer chains
(d) cubes [46]
(e) truncated octahedra [4668] (sodalite- or -cages)
(f) truncated cubeoctahedra [4126886] (-cavities)
Zeolite A
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Pores in zeolite A (LTA)
(a) the sodalite cage [4668]
(b) the -cavity [4126886]
(c) the 3-dimensional channel
system
(d) the 8-ring defining the 0.41
nm effective channel width
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AFM growth studies of LTA
S. Sugiyama et. al. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 28 (1999) 1­7
D4R
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D4R
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Zeolite FAU (X and Y) and EMT
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Molecular sieves
Zeolite Cation Code Pore diameter
Zeolite A: Na 4A 0.42 nm
Ca 5A 0.48 nm
Na, K 3A 0.38 nm
Zeolite X: Na 13X 0.8-1.0 nm
Ca 10X 0.7 nm
Zeolite Y contains more Si
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Framework density (FD)
Defined as the number of tetrahedral
atoms (T-atoms) per cubic nanometer
(1000 A3
)
FD is related to the void volume of the
crystal: as the FD value decreases, the
void volume and capacity for
adsorption increases FD < 20 are
characteristic of microporous
structures, the minimum known FD is
12.5 with the void occupying just over
half of the crystal volume
Framework density
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Pores
Various sizes (4 - 13 ), shapes (circular, elliptical, cloverleaf-like),
and connectivity (1-3D)
The size of the rings formed by the TO4 tetrahedra ranges from 4 to
18 of the T-atoms and determines the pore aperture
Extraframework charge-balancing cations
Ion-exchangeable, size, charge, positions, distribution, ordering,
coordination number
Si-to-Al ratio
Influences cation content, hydro-phobicity/-philicity, acidity
Löwenstein rule:
absence of the Al-O-Al moieties  in aluminosilicates Si/Al  1
Linde A (LTA) Si/Al = 1
ZK-4 (LTA) Si/Al = 2.5
ZSM-5 Si/Al = 20 - 
Pure SiO2 Si/Al = 
Pentasils
ZSM-5
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Synthesis - an empirical and heuristic process, new phases are
often discovered by serendipity
Aluminosilicates ­ high pH
Mixing
NaAl(OH)4(aq) + Na2SiO3(aq) + NaOH(aq), 25 °C,
condensation-polymerization, gel formation
Ageing
Na(H2O)n
+
template effect  Naa(AlO2)b(SiO2)c.NaOH.H2O(gel) 
25-175 °C
Hydrothermal crystallization of amorphous gel, 60-200 °C
Nax(AlO2)x(SiO2)y.zH2O(crystals)
Separation of the solid product by filtration
Calcination
- occluded water, removed by 25-500 °C vacuum thermal
dehydration
-template removal ­ calcination in O2 at 400-900 °C removes the
guest molecules from the framework without
altering it
­ extraction (neutral templates)
Zeolite Synthesis
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Structure of the zeolite product depends on:
- Composition
- Concentrations and reactant ratios
- Order of mixing
- Temperature
- Ageing time (hours to weeks)
- Crystallization time (days to weeks, kinetics of the structure-
directing process is slow)
- pH
- Stirring/no stirring
- Pressure
- Seeding
- Reactor material (PTFE, glass, steel)
- Templates
Templates: Organic cationic quaternary alkylammonium salts,
alkylamines, aminoalcohols, crownethers,
structure-directing, space-filling, charge-balancing
Vary the template - discover new structures !
Zeolite Synthesis
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Template or guest compounds
Three levels of the guest action with increasing structure-directing
specificity:
Space-filling - the least specific, observed, for example, in the
synthesis of AlPO4-5, 23 different, structurally unrelated
compounds, could be employed, they pack in the channels of the
structure thereby increasing its stability.
Structure-directing - a higher degree of specificity, only
tetramethylammonium hydroxide is effective in the synthesis of
AlPO4-20
-elongated molecules, such as linear diamines, initiate the formation
of channels
-nondirectional-shaped guests leads to the formation of cage-like
cavities, the size of these cavities correlates with the size of freely
rotating guests
True templating - very rare, it requires even more precise host-
guest fit which results in the cessation of the free guest-molecule
rotation
A curiosity: aluminophosphate VPI-5 does not require any guest for
its formation!
Templates
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ZEOLITES and ZEOLITIC MATERIALS
The ratio TO2/(C + N + O) is a measure of space-filling of the
framework by the guest molecules, characteristic for a specific guest
and structure.
Existence of primary and secondary units in a synthesis mixture,
4R, 6R, 8R, D4R, D6R, 5-1, cubooctahedron
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The zeolite synthesis mechanism
(b) "in situ" rearrangement of the gel
(a) gel dissolution and solution mediated crystallization (SBU in
solution)
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ZEOLITES and ZEOLITIC MATERIALS
Mechanism of structure-directing
action of the TPA template
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Wide range of solid state characterization methods for zeolites:
diffraction, microscopy, spectroscopy, thermal, adsorption and so
forth
Zeolite post modification for controlling properties of zeolites
Tailoring channel, cage, window dimensions:
Cation choice (Ca2+
exchanged for Na+
)
Larger Si/Al
decreases unit cell parametrs, window size
decreases number of cations, free space
increases hydrophobicity
Reaction temperature, higher T, larger pores
Zeolites and zeolitic materials
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Stability Rules
Lőwenstein rule: never Al-O-Al
Dempsey rule: Al-O-Si-O-Si-O-Al
is more stable than
Al-O-Si-O-Al
NNN-principle
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Na Na
O
Si
O
Al
O
Si
O
Al
O
Si
O
O O O O O O O O O O
O
Si
O
Al
O
Si
O
Al
O
Si
O
O O O O O O O O O O
-Na+NH4
NH4 NH4
Ion Exchange
O
Si
O
Al
O
Si
O
Al
O
Si
O
O O O O O O O O O O
H H
O
Si
O
Al
O O O O
Si
O
Al
O
Si
O
O O O O O O
Heating -NH3
-H2OCalcination 600 oC
Bronsted acid
Lewis acid
Tuning Bronsted acidity:
Solid acid for the hydrocarbon cracking
The larger the Si/Al ratio,the more acidic
is the zeolite
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Brnsted acidity
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ZEOLITES and ZEOLITIC MATERIALS
Size-shape selective catalysis,
separations, sensing
Reactant, product, transition
state selectivity:
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Separation of xylene isomers by pervaporation
thru a MFI membrane
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ZEOLITES and ZEOLITIC MATERIALS
Ion exchange capacity, water softening, detergents (25wt% zeolite)
Host-guest inclusion, atoms, ions, molecules, radicals,
organometallics, coordination compounds, clusters, polymers
(conducting, insulating)
Nanoreaction chambers
Advanced zeolite devices, electronic, optical, magnetic applications,
nanoscale materials, size tunable properties, QSEs
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HRTEM
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ZEOLITES and ZEOLITIC MATERIALS
Aluminophosphates
Isoelectronic relationship of AlPO4 to (SiO2)2
Ionic radius of Si4+
(0.26 ) is very close to the average of the ionic
radii of Al3+
(0.39 ) and P5+
(0.17 )
Many similarities between aluminosilicate and AlPO4 molecular
sieves
Dense AlPO4 phases are isomorphic with the structural forms of
SiO2: quartz, tridymite, and cristobalite
Aluminosilicate framework charge balanced by extraframework
cations
Aluminophosphate frameworks neutral (AlO2
-
)(PO2
+
) = AlPO4
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ZEOLITES and ZEOLITIC MATERIALS
Some of the AlPO4 microporous structures are analogous to zeolites
while other are novel and unique to this class of molecular sieves.
Only even-number rings because of the strict alternation of Al and P
atoms.
Incorporation of elements such as Si, Mg, Fe, Ti, Co, Zn, Mn, Ga,
Ge, Be, Li, As, and B into the tetrahedral sites of AlPO4 gives a vast
number of element-substituted molecular sieves (MeAPO, MeAPSO,
SAPO) which are important heterogeneous catalysts.
M1+
, M2+
, and M3+
incorporate into the Al sites
M5+
elements incorporate into the P sites
This substitution introduces a negative charge on these frameworks.
Si4+
, Ti4+
, and Ge4+
can either replace P and introduce a negative
charge or a pair of these atoms can replace an Al/P pair and retain
the charge neutrality.
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ZEOLITES and ZEOLITIC MATERIALS
Aluminophosphates prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis
Source of Al: pseudoboehmite, Al(O)(OH), Al(Oi-Pr)3
Mixing with aqueous H3PO4 in the equimolar ratio ­ low pH !
Forms an AlPO4 gel, left to age
One equivalent of a guest compound = template
Crystallization in a reactor
Separated by filtration, washed with water
Calcination
Other zeolite materials
Oxide and non-oxide frameworks, sulfides, selenides
Coordination frameworks, supramolecular zeolites
The quest for larger and larger pore sizes
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Metallo-Organic Framework Structures
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Metallo-Organic Framework Structures
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Metallo-Organic Framework Structures
43
Inorganic and Metallo-Organic Quartz