Combined solid state NMR and X-ray diffraction investigation of the local structure of the five-coordinate silicon in fluoride-containing as-synthesized STF zeolite

The local structure of the [SiO4/2F](-) unit in fluoride-containing as-synthesized STF zeolite has been experimentally determined by a combination of solid-state NMR and microcrystal X-ray diffraction to be very close to trigonal bipyramidal. Because the fluoride ions are disordered over two sites, the resulting local structure of the [SiO4/2F](-) unit from a conventional XRD refinement is an average between tetrahedral SiO4/2 and five-coordinate [SiO4/2F](-), giving an apparent F-Si distance longer than expected. The correct F-Si distance was determined by slow spinning MAS and fast spinning F-19/Si-29 CP and REDOR solid-state NMR experiments and found to be between 1.72 and 1.79 Angstrom. In light of this, the X-ray structure was re-refined, including the disorder at Si3. The resulting local structure of the [SiO4/2F]- unit was very close to trigonal bipyramidal with a F-Si distance of 1.744 (6) Angstrom, in agreement with the NMR results and the prediction of Density Functional Theory calculations. In addition, further evidence for the existence of a covalent F-Si bond is provided by a F-19–>Si-29 refocused INEPT experiment. The resonance for the five-coordinate species at -147.5 ppm in the Si-29 Spectrum is a doublet due to the F-19/Si-29 J-coupling of 165 Hz. The peaks in this doublet have remarkably different effective chemical shift anisotropies due to the interplay of the CSA, dipolar coupling, and J-coupling tensors. The distortions from tetrahedral geometry of the neighboring silicon atoms to the five-coordinate Si3 atom are manifested in increased delta(aniso) values. This information, along with F-Si distances measured by F-19–>Si-29 CP experiments, makes it possible to assign half of the Si-29 resonances to unique tetrahedral sites. As well as determining the local geometry of the [SiO4/2F](-) unit, the work presented here demonstrates the complementarity of the solid-state NMR and X-ray diffraction techniques and the advantages of using them together.