Dehydration-induced water disordering in a synthetic potassium gallosilicate natrolite

A new potassium gallosilicate zeolite with a natrolite topology (approximate formula K8.2Ga8.2-Si11.8O40 center dot 11.5H(2)O) was synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and characterized as a function of temperature using monochromatic synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and Rietveld analyses. Unlike the previously known tetragonal K8Ga8Si12O40 center dot 6H(2)O phase, the as-synthesized material contains twice the amount of water molecules in an ordered arrangement throughout the channels in an orthorhombic (/2(1)2(1)2(1)) symmetry. The ordered configuration of water molecules is stabilized below 300 K, whereas heating above 300 K results in a selective dehydration and subsequent disordering of water molecules in a tetragonal (/42d) symmetry. Above 400 K, the material transforms to a fully dehydrated tetragonal phase with a concomitant volume reduction of ca. 15%. The fully dehydrated material transforms back to its original state when rehydrated over a period of up to 2 weeks. The distribution of potassium cations within the channels remains largely unperturbed during the water rearrangements and their order-disorder transition within the channels.