Insights of the Crystallization Process of Molecular Sieve AlPO4-5 Prepared by Solvent-Free Synthesis.

Crystallization of AlPO4-5 with AFI structure under solvent-free conditions has been investigated. Attention was mainly focused on the characterization of the intermediate phases formed at the early stages during the crystallization. The development in the long-range ordering of the solid phases as a function of crystallization time was monitored by XRD, SEM, IR, UV-Raman, and MAS NMR techniques. Particularly, the UV-Raman spectroscopy was employed to obtain the information on the formation process of the framework. J-HMQC (27)Al/(31)P double-resonance NMR experiments were used to identify the P-O-Al bonded species in the intermediate phases. For the first time the P-O-Al bonded species in the intermediate phases can be correctly described through using this advanced NMR technique. The crystallization under solvent-free conditions appears to follow the pathway: The initial amorphous raw material is converted to an intermediate phase which has four-/six-membered ring species, then gradually transformed into crystalline AlPO4-5. This observation is not consistent with the common idea that the intermediate phase is the semicrystalline intermediates with a three-dimensional structure.