The silica species contained in an aged clear suspension, which upon heating gives rise to the crystallization
of Silicalite-1, were extracted with 80% efficiency using a sequence of acidification, salting out, phase transfer
into organic solvent, and freeze-drying methods. This silica powder was characterized by X-ray scattering,
transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and 29Si magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic
resonance. These techniques gave evidence for the presence of a very specific morphology, corresponding to
slab shaped particles, with dimensions of 1.3 × 4.0 × 4.0 nm. The nanoslabs have the MFI structure with
nine channel intersections per particle, each containing a TPA cation. The identity of the extracted nanoslabs
with the species in suspension is evidenced with in situ and ex situ X-ray scattering.
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