High-pressure, high temperature insertion of bismuth in the siliceous zeolite silicalite-1

Abstract A silicalite-1/bismuth composite was synthesized by insertion of liquid bismuth in the 5.5 A diameter pores of the zeolite under high-pressure, high-temperature conditions. The insertion of bismuth stabilizes the structure with respect to pressure-induced amorphization. Transmission electron microscopy indicated the presence of chains of atoms, which correspond to the 5.5 A diameter of the host silicalite-1 structure. Neutron powder diffraction also confirmed the insertion of Bi in the pores of silicalite-1. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the insertion of bismuth results in formation of chains with short and long Bi-Bi distances in the pores of the host silicalite-1 linked to the framework by van der Waal's interactions. The material is predicted to be a semiconductor with a band gap of 0.4 eV.