| Abstract
| - Hypothetical zeolitic structures were systematically enumerated using tiling theory and then characterizedwith a view to finding those that are chemically feasible. The energy of each framework, treated as a polymorphof silica, was first minimized using computational chemistry methods. Optimized structural parameters,framework energy relative to α-quartz, framework density, and internal volume accessible to sorption ofsmall molecules were then calculated for each structure. Chemical feasibility was evaluated by means of a“feasibility factor” derived from the correlation between lattice energy and framework density. Finally, thestructures most suitable for potential applications in heterogeneous catalysis and sorption (those with widechannels and/or cavities that are accessible to external molecules) were identified. Very few structures withone or two crystallographically distinct sites for silicon (“uninodal” and “binodal”) were found to be promisingin this respect. In contrast, there are 100 trinodal structures that are potentially suitable for practical applications.These are described and discussed.
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