100 Years of X-ray CrystallographyZeolite Beta
Why?
My favorite crystal is zeolite beta, an intergrowth of two polymorphs, which I am holding in the picture. You can think of beta somewhat like taking these two models, shaving them into layers, and shuffling them like a deck of cards. I originally saw the structure of beta in 1985 in the Mobil Princeton labs where I had taken a consulting job working in Roland vonBallmoos’ group. The structure fascinated me because one of the polymorphs contains a spiral pore. Could it be grown in enantiomeric forms? Could it be used to separate enantiomers of organic compounds? But in my exit interview, I was told specifically that the structure of beta was one the top secrets of the company. Nothing could be said about it. Scroll forward 4 years to 1989 at Exxon Clinton labs. I was again a consultant and was in the office of John Newsam. Sitting on his desk was model of a zeolite. I picked it up to examine it, and because of the spiral pore, I recognized it as zeolite beta. 30 years later, I am still fascinated enough to build a digital model of the structure and have the two polymorphs printed.—Geoffrey Price
