GIS- and LTL- (the three capital characters indicate the framework type-code) type zeolites were obtained by organic structure-directing agent free hydrothermal conversion of FAU-type zeolite at 125 degrees C in the presence of NaOH and KOH, respectively. MOR-type zeolite was found coexisting with GIS-type when the hydrothermal conversion with NaOH was carried out at 140 degrees C. There was a common building unit consisting of four-membered ring chain such as d6r, dsc, and dcc (the three characters indicate the composite building unit-code) units present in both the starting zeolite (FAU-type zeolite) and the product zeolites (GIS- and LTL-type zeolites), which was the crucial factor for crystal growth through interzeolite conversion. In the case of severe hydrothermal synthesis conditions such as high temperature, however, the crystallization behavior was similar to that observed in conventional hydrothermal synthesis using amorphous materials because the starting zeolite was excessively decomposed. The hypothesis was confirmed by successful interzeolite conversion of *BEA- to MFI-type zeolite which shared the common composite building unit mor.

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Hydrothermal conversion of LEV-type zeolite into CHA-type zeolite occurred in the absence of both an organic structure-directing agent and a seed crystal. The LEV-CHA transformation proceeds from a more dense zeolite (LEV) to a less dense one (CHA).When amorphous aluminosilicate hydrogels were used as starting materials, the CHA-type zeolite was not obtained under the present hydrothermal synthesis 2 conditions. From the fact that the LEV-CHA transformation proceeded at lower alkalinity conditions, it was suggested that locally ordered aluminosilicate species (nanoparts) produced by decomposition/dissolution of the starting LEV-type zeolite contribute to the transformation process. On the other hand, at higher alkalinity than that used for the CHA-type zeolite synthesis, LEV-LTA transformation occurred effectively and selectively. These results suggest that there is a large difference in the structures of nanoparts generated by decomposition/dissolution of the starting zeolite in the LEV-CHA and LEV-LTA transformations.

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A new layered silicate, HUS-1, was synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis using decomposed FAU- and *BEA-type zeolites as nanosized silica parts. Structural analyses by X-ray powder diffractometry and solid-state magic-angle-spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy revealed that HUS-1 has a layered structure containing a silicate layer per unit cell along a stacking direction. Its framework topology is similar to that of SOD-type zeolites and consists of a halved sodalite cage, which includes four- and six-membered Si rings. Structure refinement by the Rietveld method showed that tetramethylammonium (TMA) ions used as a structure-directing agent (SDA) were incorporated into the interlayer. The four methyl groups of the TMA molecule were located orderly in a hemispherical cage in the silicate layer, which suggests restraint of molecular motion. The interlayer distance is estimated at about 0.15 nm, which is unusually short in comparison with that in other layered silicates (e.g., β-HLS or RUB-15) with similar framework topologies. The presence of hydrogen bonding between adjacent terminal O atoms was clearly revealed by the (1)H MAS NMR spectroscopy and by electron-density distribution obtained by the maximum entropy method.