NEUTRONS USED TO CHARACTERIZE A NOVEL LITHIUM-CONTAINING ZEOLITE.

Zeolites are minerals with molecule-sized pores. Different materials have different-sized pores. In the past few decades, chemists have learned to produce new zeolite analogs that incorporate a variety of elements and have a variety of properties. These zeolitic materials are used widely for tasks ranging from the production of gasoline and medcal ocygen to improved laundry detergents.

In collaboration with researchers from SUNY Stony Brook and the Ruhr-Universitat-Bochum, MSEL researchers have characterized a new type of zeolitic material-the lithosilicate RUB-29--built in part from Li[O.sub.4] building blocks. [S.-H. Park et al., Journal of the American Chemical Society, 122, 11023 (2000).] Neutron diffraction performed at NIST was essential for a complete structural determination for this material. The novel Li[O.sub.4] building units found in RUB-29 are more flexible than others previously employed and allow formerly impossible configurations of pores to be achieved. Also, the Li atoms require proportionally more charge balancing cations than other building blocks. This means that lithosilicates have the potential for unprecedented ion-exchange capabilities. Further, in this work, an additional unique property of RUB-29 was discovered: the Li atoms in this material are mobile at relatively low temperature ([less than]250[degrees]C), indicating this class of materials could have possible applications in fuel cell or battery technology.