SELF-AVOIDING WALKS AND CONNECTIVE CONSTANTS IN ZEOLITIC FRAMEWORKS

The number of self-avoiding walks, u(n), in several zeolitic framework s has been calculated up to distances n higher than 20 steps. This all ows us to estimate the 'connective constant' or effective coordination number of these structures as the limit of the ratio u(n)/u(n-1) for large n. This parameter is correlated with the density of tetrahedra i n the zeolite networks, and is shown to be very useful for characteriz ing the network connectivity, as well as quantifying the influence of the framework topology on the Si, Al atom ordering in these materials.