Structural characterization of various alkali cation forms of synthetic aluminosilicate natrolites

The structures of the Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+ forms of PST-3 and PST-4, two synthetic aluminosilicate natrolite zeolites with almost completely disordered and ordered distributions of framework Si and Al atoms, respectively, in both hydrated and dehydrated states have been determined using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and Rietveld analyses. It was found that the trivalent tetrahedral atom (T-atom) content, as well as the type of extraframework alkali metal cations and the hydration state, is a more important factor governing the framework flexibility of this family of small-pore zeolites than the T-atom distribution. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.