Use of amphiphilic compounds to produce novel classes of crystalline oxide materials

Claim 1

A process for using an amphiphilic compound to prepare a highly porous crystalline oxide material exhibiting an X-ray diffraction pattern with at least one peak at a position greater than about 18 Angstrom Units d-spacing with a relative intensity of 100 and a benzene adsorption capacity of greater than about 15 grams benzene per 100 grams anhydrous crystal at 50 torr and 25° C., said process comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a reaction mixture capable of forming a precursor to said crystalline oxide material, said reaction mixture comprising one or more sources of at least one oxide, a solvent or solvent mixture and an amphiphilic compound; (b) maintaining said mixture under sufficient conditions of pH, temperature and time for formation of a crystalline oxide containing residual amphiphilic compound; (c) recovering said crystalline oxide containing residual amphiphilic compound from step (b); and (d) calcining said recovered material from step (c) under conditions sufficient to remove residual amphiphilic compound, wherein said amphiphilic compound is a cetyltrimethylammonium compound, and wherein said reaction mixture of step (a) has the mole ratio Solvent/(R'.sub.2 O+M.sub.2 O) of greater than 92, where R' is said amphiphilic compound and M is alkali metal or alkali earth metal, and wherein the calcined material from step (d) has a hexagonal electron diffraction pattern and a pore size of at least 13 Angstroms.