Al site distribution in the structurally complex and industrially important ZSM-5 zeolite is determined by studying the spectroscopic response of Al(OSi) units and using a self-consistent combination of up-to-date solid-state NMR correlations (Si-Al and H-Al D-HMQC) and quantum chemistry methods (DFT-D). To unravel the driving forces behind specific Al sitting positions, our approach focuses on ZSM-5 containing its more efficient OSDA, tetrapropylammonium.

The main approaches for engineering and healing of defects in zeolites known for their iconic shape-selective properties widely explored in key areas such as catalysis, waste management, gas separation and biomedicine are revealed.