The structure of the nickel N,N'-piperazinebismethylenephosphonate, Ni-STA-12 (St. Andrews porous material-12), has been determined in the hydrated (Ni2L x 8 H2O, L = O3PCH2NC4H8NCH2PO3), partially dehydrated (Ni2L x 2 H2O), and fully dehydrated (Ni2L) forms from high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. The framework structures of Ni2L x 8 H2O and Ni2L x 2 H2O are almost identical (R, a = 27.8342(1) A, c = 6.2421(2) A; R, a = 27.9144(1) A, c = 6.1655(2) A) with additional physisorbed water of the as-prepared Ni-STA-12 present in an ordered hydrogen-bonded network in the channels. Ab initio structure solution of the fully dehydrated solid indicates it has changed symmetry to triclinic (P1, a = 6.03475(5) A, b = 14.9157(2) A, c = 16.1572(2) A, alpha = 112.5721(7) degrees, beta = 95.7025(11) degrees, gamma = 96.4950(11) degrees) as a result of a topotactic structural rearrangement. The fully dehydrated solid possesses permanent porosity with elliptical channels 8 A x 9 A in free diameter. The structural change results from the loss of water coordinated to the nickel cations, so that the nickel coordination changes from edge-sharing octahedral NiO5N to edge- and corner-sharing five-fold NiO4N. During this change, two out of three phosphonate groups rotate to become fully coordinated to nickel cations, leaving the remainder of the phosphonate groups coordinated to nickel cations by two oxygen atoms and with a P=O bond projecting into the channels. This transformation, which is completely reversible, causes substantial changes in both vibrational and electronic properties as shown by IR, Raman, and UV-visible spectroscopies. Complementary adsorption, calorimetric, and infrared studies of the probe adsorbates H2, CO, and CO2 reveal the presence of several distinct adsorption sites in the solid, which are attributed to their interactions with nickel cations which are weak Lewis acid sites, as well as with P=O groups that project into the pores. At 304 K, the adsorption isotherms and enthalpies of adsorption on dehydrated Ni-STA-12 have been measured for CO2 and CH4: Ni-STA-12 gives adsorption uptakes of CO2 of 2.5 mmol g(-1) at 1 bar, an uptake ca. 10 times that of CH4.

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IntroductionZeolites are tetrahedrally connected framework solids, based on silica, with intricate structures that possess channels and cages large enough to contain extra-framework cations and to permit the uptake and desorption of molecules varying from hydrogen to complex organics up to 1 nm in size. Their crystalline structure directly controls their properties and consequently their performance in applications such as ion exchange, separation, and catalysis, and is therefore of great interest to academics and technologists alike. A ''ball and stick'' representation of the most widely used zeolite A, with tetrahedral Al and Si atoms linked by O atoms and with chargebalancing Na + cations, is given in Figure 7.1.Originally discovered as aluminosilicate minerals, synthetic zeolites with a range of compositions are now widely prepared and subsequently modified for a wide range of applications. Many excellent articles, reviews, and books describe the structures of these solids, often in well-illustrated texts [1-3] and online resources [4]. Here we start by summarizing their structural chemistry, beginning with the key features of the best known and most widely used zeolites A and Y. Besides covering the periodic structures of these solids, other features such as secondary mesoporosity are also important to their performance and are discussed. This is followed by a summary of the structural chemistry of some of the important zeolite types prepared using inorganic and simple organic cations prior to the 1990s.Over the last 20 years there has been a major international effort to prepare new zeolitic materials, in the search for improved adsorbents and catalysts. Much of this has focused on the exploration of the use of complex organic alkylammonium ions, synthesized specifically as potential ''templates,'' giving high-silica-content zeolites or pure silica polytypes. The diversity of structures has also been increased by the inclusion of elements other than Al for Si in the framework, which may be either aliovalent (2+ or 3+) or isovalent (4+), and the search for new materials is encouraged by the tantalizing arrays of hypothetical structures that have been shown to be energetically feasible [5,6]. The remarkable products of this ongoing odyssey continue to show new structural features that are both intriguing and of practical importance or potential: increased crystallographic complexity leading to structures with novel

Review: 82 refs.