Pentasil zeolites from Antarctica: from mineralogy to zeolite science and technology

In the course of a systematic investigation of zeolites from Northern Victoria land, Antarctica, a large number of zeolitic species was identified in the jurassic Ferrar Dolerites of Mt. Adamson. Noteworthy was the presence of three new zeolites: gottardiite, the natural counterpart of the synthetic NU-87, terranovaite, and mutinaite, the analogue of ZSM-5, aswell as the two very rare zeolites tschernichite, the counterpart of zeolite beta, and boggsite.The chemical and crystallographic properties of these natural materials were compared with those of their synthetic analogues. The tetragonal and monoclinic polymorphic phases,intergrown in the beta zeolite, were isolated and structurally refined in tschernichite crystals, which differ by crystal size, morphology and chemistry. The occurrence of these naturalzeolites demonstrates that the chemical existence field of their synthetic counterparts is larger than that argued up to now, and that their synthesis can be obtained in the absence ofan organic template.