Abstract
The crystal structure of The crystal structure of $Ag^+$-Exchanged Zeolite A, $Ag_{4.6}Na_{7.4}-A$, dehydrated, treated with $H_2$, and evacuated, all at $350^{\circ}C$, has been determined by single crystal x-ray diffraction methods in the cubic space group Pm3m at $24(1)^{\circ}C;$ a = $12.208(2)\AA.$ The structure was refined to the final error indices R1 = 0.088 and R2 (weighted) = 0.069 using 194 independent reflections for which II_0$ > $3{\sigma}(I_0)$. On threefold axes near the centers of 6-oxygen rings, $7.4 Na^+$ ions and $0.6 Ag^+$ ions are found. Two non-equivalent 8-ring $Ag^+$ ions are found off the 8-ring planes, each containing about $0.6 Ag^+$ ions. Three non-equivalent Ag atom positions are found in the large cavity, each containing about 0.6 Ag atoms. This crystallographic analysis may be interpreted to indicate that $0.6 (Ag_6)^{3+}$ clusters are present in each large cavity. This cluster may be viewed as a nearly linear trisilver molecule $(Ag_3)^0$ (bond lengths, 2.92 and 2.94 $\AA;$ angle, $153^{\circ})$ stabilized by the coordination of each atom to a Ag^+$ ion at 3.30, 3.33, and 3.43 $\AA$, respectively. In addition, one of the silver atoms approaches all of the 0(1) oxygens of a 4-ring at $2.76\AA.$ Altogether $7.4 Na^+$ ions, $1.8 Ag^+$ ions, and 1.8 Ag atoms are located per unit cell. The remaining $1.0 Ag^+$ ion has been reduced and has migrated out of the zeolite framework to form silver crystallites on the surface of the zeolite single crystal.