US-Switzerland Cooperative Research: Structural Analyses ofZeolites, Molecular Sieves and Related Materials

曼哈顿学院的Richard M. Kirchner博士和瑞士苏黎世晶体学研究所的Walter M. Meier教授就“沸石，分子筛和相关材料的结构分析”的提案，是由美国国家科学基金会和瑞士国家科学基金会共同批准的美国-瑞士合作科学项目。解决一个新的分子筛的结构往往需要多年的时间，使用现有的技术组合。一种新的方法（Bennett/Schomaker方法）已经成功地解决了四个未知分子筛的结构。然而，这种方法需要扩展到适用于所有空间群的各种不同化学成分的框架材料。这个提议将把专家们聚集在一起，共同开发一个更强大、更有用的计划。具体来说，研究人员将通过x射线粉末衍射数据对两种新型磷酸铝框架材料（KAPPA和ALPO4-11）进行表征。KAPPA结构的知识将使类似拓扑结构的化学取代框架的比较成为可能。表征良好的ALPO4-11结构将提供用于合成该材料的磷酸铝框架和有机模板之间相互作用的细节。此外，由于已知的磷酸铝骨架材料的结构特征并不多，因此为了了解这种具有巨大商业应用潜力的新材料家族（包括化学取代材料）的性质，每种新结构都具有相当大的兴趣。

This proposal on "Structural Analyses of Zeolites, Molecular Sieves and Related Materials" between Dr. Richard M. Kirchner of Manhattan College and Prof. Walter M. Meier of the Institute for Crystallography, Zurich, Switzerland, is jointly approved by NSF and the Swiss National Science Foundation under the U.S.-Switzerland Cooperative Science Program. Solving the structure of a new molecular sieve often takes many years using a combination of presently available techniques. A new approach (the Bennett/Schomaker method) has already been successful in solving the structures of four unknown molecular sieves. However, this method needs to be expanded to work in all space groups for a variety of framework materials of various chemical composition. This proposal would bring together experts who together could develop a more powerful and useful program. Specifically, the researchers of two new aluminophosphate framework materials (KAPPA and ALPO4-11) will be characterized from X-ray powder diffraction data. Knowledge of the KAPPA structure will enable a comparison of chemically substituted frameworks of similar topology to be made. A well characterized structure of ALPO4-11 would provide details of the interaction between the aluminophosphate framework and the organic template used to synthesize this material. In addition, since not many well characterized structures of aluminophosphate framework materials are known, each new structure is of considerable interest in order to understand the properties of this new family of materials (including chemically substituted ones) that have great potential for commercial application.