Rigid unit modes at high pressure: an explorative study of a fibrous zeolite-like framework with EDI topology

We report a comparative study on the high pressure (HP) structural behaviour of a fibrous zeolite (with EDI topology) on the basis of rigid unit modes (RUM) modelling and previously published single-crystal X-ray diffraction. HP single-crystal diffraction data lead to a more precise determination of the elastic parameters (axial and volume compressibilities) useful to define the equation-of-state under isothermal conditions, and the structural refinements are useful to describe the main deformation mechanisms of the Si/Al framework and extra-framework content at high pressure. The RUM modelling is applied to simulate the compressive behaviour of the framework, under hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic conditions, using a minimum number of parameters, and to describe the deformation mechanism intuitively in terms of the rotations of the SiO₄ polyhedra. The local and global P-induced deformation mechanisms of the Si/Al framework observed in experiment (channel ellipticity, SBU rotation) are well reproduced by RUM modelling. The simulation of uniaxial compression (non-hydrostatic conditions) shows an interesting result on the structural behaviour. This comparative study tests the reliability of the RUM modelling in open-framework silicates with a complicated crystal structure.Electronic Supplementary Material: Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic form at     

Anisotropic compression of edingtonite and thomsonite to 6 GPa at room temperature

Polycrystalline samples of natural edingtonite (New Brunswick, Canada) and thomsonite (Oregon, USA) were studied up to 6 GPa using monochromatic synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and a diamond-anvil cell with a methanol:ethanol:water mixture as a penetrating pressure-transmitting fluid. Unlike natrolite, previously studied under the same conditions, edingtonite and thomsonite do not show any apparent pressure-induced hydration (PIH) or phase transitions. All these fibrous zeolites are characterized by their anisotropic compressibilities, with the linear compressibilities of the fibrous chains (c-axis) being as small as one third of those perpendicular to the chains (a-, b-axes); for edingtonite, ₀ ^a =0.0050(3) GPa^–1, ₀ ^b =0.0054(2) GPa^–1, ₀ ^c =0.0034(1) GPa^–1; for thomsonite, ₀ ^a = 0.0080(2) GPa^–1, ₀ ^b =0.0084(2) GPa^–1, ₀ ^c =0.0032(1) GPa^–1. The pressure–volume data were fitted to a second-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state using a fixed pressure derivative of 4. As a result of the 0000-type connectivity of the chains, the bulk modulus of edingtonite is found to be about 40% larger than that of thomsonite; K^EDI ₀=73(3) GPa, K^THO ₀=52(1) GPa. Distance least-squares refinements were used to model the expected framework, following the observed linear compression behaviors. The chain-bridging T–O–T angle is proposed to be correlated with the different compressibilities across the chains in each framework type.