| The focus of this dissertation is the extra-framework cation sites in a particular structural family of zeolites, chabazite. Cation sites play a particularly important role in the application of these sieves for ion exchange, gas separation, catalysis, and, when the cation is a proton, acid catalysis. Structural characterization is commonly performed through the use of powder diffraction and Rietveld analysis of powder diffraction data. Use of high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance, in the study of the local order of the various constituent nuclei of zeolites, complements well the long-range order information produced by diffraction. Recent developments in solid state NMR techniques allow for increased study of disorder in zeolites particularly when such phenomena test the detection limits of diffraction. These two powerful characterization techniques, powder diffraction and NMR, offer many insights into the complex interaction of cations with the zeolite framework.;The acids site locations in SSZ-13, a high silica chabazite, and SAPO-34, a silicoaluminophosphate with the chabazite structure, were determined. The structure of SAPO-34 upon selective hydration was also determined. The insensitivity of X-rays to hydrogen was avoided through deuteration of the acid zeolites and neutron powder diffraction methods. Protons at inequivalent positions were found to have different acid strengths in both SSZ-13 and SAPO-34.;Other light elements are incorporated into zeolites in the form of extra-framework cations, among these are lithium, sodium, and calcium. Not amenable by X-ray powder diffraction methods, the positions of such light cations in fully ion-exchanged versions of synthetic chabazite were determined through neutron powder diffraction methods. The study of more complex binary cation systems were conducted. Powder diffraction and solid state NMR methods (MAS, MQMAS) were used to examine cation site preferences and dislocations in these mixed-akali chabazites. Lithium cations were found to prefer high-symmetry positions in the six-ring windows of the framework. Sodium cations preferred positions in the eight-ring window when not hindered by the presence of other cations in the supercage. |
