Five-Coordinate Silicon in High-Silica Zeolites

Abstract

Pentacoordinated silicon units, SiO4/2F-, were found by solid-state NMR experiments in various as-made high-silica zeolites (Beta, SSZ-23, ITQ-3, ITQ-4, ZSM-12, Silicalite-1) that are prepared in the presence of fluoride ions as mineralizing agents. The SiO4/2F- units are part of the framework, being connected, through sharing of the four O atoms, with four neighboring tetracoordinated SiO4/2 units. These five-coordinate silicon units balance the charge of the cationic organic structure-directing agent. The 29Si chemical shift of these sites is between −140 and −150 ppm, and the 19F chemical shifts are between −56 and −78 ppm. The zeolites SSZ-23, ITQ-4, and Silicalite-1 show a dynamic motion of the fluoride ions at room temperature which is frozen out at a temperature of 130−140 K. In the case of fluoride motion, the 29Si chemical shifts are between −120 and −150 ppm, indicating an exchange between four- and five-coordinate silicon, which means that the fluoride ions exchange between different framework silicon sites. The rigid SiO4/2F- units show a characteristic parameter of the 19F chemical shift anisotropy: the span value, Ω = δ11 − δ33, is between 80 and 87 ppm.