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.