NONAQUEOUS SYNTHESIS OF GIANT CRYSTALS OF ZEOLITES AND MOLECULAR-SIEVES

IN the rapidly developing area of advanced zeolite materials science, the development of novel optical, electronic and magnetic materials1-5 requires the synthesis of large single crystals of a well defined hab it. Crystals of a specified size and shape are needed to fabricate mem branes and sensor devices6,7. Large crystals of zeolites and molecular sieves are essential for refining structures and elucidating the intr insic absorption and diffusion properties of these materials8,9. Here we present a method for growing uniformly large and morphologically we ll defined single crystals of all-silica, aluminosilicate and aluminop hosphate molecular sieves with dimensions in the size range 0.4-5.0 mm . Our synthetic method relies on the use of a non-aqueous solvent, a m ineralizer, an optional organic templating species and reagent amounts of water. We have prepared both large-pore and small-pore materials o f various framework composition and structure type.