On the plasticity of Si-O framawork of alkali zinc silicates

The configuration of the Si-O framework in alkali zinc silicates has been investigated on the basis of recently determined structures. The results have shown that there is a linear correlation between the ionic radii of alkali ions and the molar abundance of ZnO+SiO2 per one alkali ion in the structure. This indicates that in the case of zinc silicates, the configuration of the Si-O frameworks is largely influenced by the ionic radii of alkali ions in the structure. On the contrary, in the case of alumino-silicates, the configuration of the Si-O framework is independent of ionic radii of alkali ions. In the former, the Si-O framework is considered to be plastic, while in the latter, it could be called rigid. The latter extreme cases are those of zeolites. In this case, the configuration on frameworks is not entirely influenced by the ionic radii of alkali atoms present. These results are discussed in connection with the historical investigations of silicate structures.