UTL zeolite and the way beyond

Abstract

Zeolite UTL is the first zeolite synthesized with intersecting 14- and 12-ring channels in the form of germanosilicate. Its framework consists of dense layers supported (‘pillared’) by D4R units enriched in Ge. The synthesis of UTL enabled a new insight into our understanding of zeolite properties, role of different templates, mechanism of zeolite synthesis, and isomorphous substitution. In addition to its attractive properties, zeolite UTL is the first zeolite that has been selectively transformed (dis-assembled) into individual ‘UTL’ layers with preservation of their structure. This disassembly is not only completely new (‘top-down’) approach in the modification of zeolite materials but also enables further manipulation of the layers like swelling, pillaring, and stabilization. This resulted in a new family of UTL-based materials. Upon suitable manipulation, the UTL layers can be condensed to form two new zeolites IPC-2 and IPC-4 (IZA code PCR). These zeolites were synthesized via newly proposed synthetic mechanism ADOR (A – assembly, D – dis-assembly, O – organization, R – re-assembly). The ADOR approach is believed to be a general strategy that will lead to the preparation of new zeolites.