An Extra-Large-Pore Zeolite with 24×8×8-Ring Channels Using a Structure-Directing Agent Derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine

Extra-large-pore zeolites have attracted much interest because of their important applications for processing larger molecules. Although great progress has been made in academic science and industry, it is challenging to synthesize these materials. A new extra-large-pore zeolite SYSU-3 (Sun Yat-sen University no. 3) has been synthesized by using a novel sophoridine derivative as an organic structure-directing agent (OSDA). The framework structure was solved and refined using continuous rotation electron diffraction (cRED) data from nanosized crystals. SYSU-3 exhibits a new zeolite framework topology, which has the first 24×8×8-ring extra-large-pore system and a framework density (FD) as low as 11.4 T/1000 ų. The unique skeleton of the OSDA plays an essential role in the formation of the distinctive zeolite structure. This work provides a new perspective for developing new zeolitic materials by using alkaloids as cost-effective OSDAs.