Biomass-mediated ZSM-5 zeolite synthesis: when self-assembly allows to cross the Si/Al lower limit

A family of Al-rich ZSM-5 zeolites with Si/Al = 8 ± 0.5 was prepared according to a biomass-mediated supramolecular approach. A combination of advanced characterisation techniques and periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations unraveled the purity and stability of un-expected Al-enriched ZSM-5 structures, hence allowing to cross the frontier of Si/Al lower limit. In addition, these Al-rich ZSM-5 zeolites demonstrated high catalytic activity in n-hexane cracking and methanol conversion into hydrocarbons, being in line with the presence of numerous Bronsted acid sites.