David Monroe Chapman

Synthesis, characterization and crystal chemistry of microporous titanium-silicate materials

Abstract We attempted to synthesize crystalline, three-dimensional, microporous oxide networks composed of interconnected titanate octahedra and silicate tetrahedra. Thus, hydrothermal syntheses were performed using strongly alkaline titanium-silicate gels as reactants. Synthetic analogs of the zeolitic minerals zorite and vinogradovite were prepared and characterized, and these materials contain the desired structural features. In addition, a novel microporous titanium-silicate composition that is a structural analog of the mineral pharmacosiderite was prepared and shown to be composed of interconnected four- and six-coordinated polyhedra. These results serve to illustrate the potential for the discovery of novel molecular sieve structures and compositions that incorporate octahedral units into their frameworks.