ABSTRACT
Zeolites are crystalline solids consisting of catenated silicon and aluminum tetrahedra that enclose regular repeating cavities or channels of well-defined size and shape [1]. (Fig. 1) There are over 30 naturally occurring zeolites and over 100 synthetic zeolites without a naturally occurring counterpart. Recent developments in zeolite science have seen the field expand far beyond its initial focus in the 1960s in petroleum processing to include their use in the synthesis of fine chemicals [2]. Properties which make zeolites especially attractive for heterogeneous catalysis of fine chemical synthesis include (1) the availability of zeolites with a variety of pore sizes encompassing a wide range of typical organic chemical diameters, (2) the ability to fine-tune the electrostatic character of the intercavity environment by cation exchange, (3) the ability to synthesize zeolites in which framework aluminum and/or silicon can be substituted with iron, phosphorus, boron, vanadium, and a wide variety of other atoms, and (4) their potential for use in environmentally benign protocols.
