Zeolite crystal growth mechanisms are not fully elucidated owing to their complexity wherein the formation of a particular zeolite can occur by more than one crystallization pathway. Here, we have conducted time-resolved dissolution experiments of MFI-type zeolite crystals in ammonium fluoride medium where detailed structural analysis allowed us to extrapolate and elucidate the possible mechanism of nucleation and crystal growth. A combination of electron and scanning probe microscopy shows that dissolution initiates preferentially at lattice defects and progressively removes defect zones to reveal a mosaic structure of crystalline domains within each zeolite crystal. This mosaic architecture evolves during the growth process, reflecting the changing conditions of zeolite formation that can be retroactively assessed during zeolite crystal dissolution. Moreover, a more general implication of this study is the establishment that dissolution can be used successfully as an ex situ technique to uncover details about crystal growth features inaccessible by other methods.

沸石晶体生长机制由于其复杂性而尚未完全阐明，其中特定沸石的形成可以通过不止一种结晶途径发生。在这里，我们对 MFI 型沸石晶体在氟化铵介质中进行了时间分辨溶解实验，详细的结构分析使我们能够推断和阐明成核和晶体生长的可能机制。电子显微镜和扫描探针显微镜的结合表明，溶解优先在晶格缺陷处开始，并逐渐去除缺陷区域，以揭示每个沸石晶体内晶域的镶嵌结构。这种镶嵌结构在生长过程中不断演变，反映了沸石形成条件的变化，可以在沸石晶体溶解过程中追溯评估。此外，这项研究的一个更普遍的意义是，溶解可以成功地用作异位技术，以揭示其他方法无法获得的晶体生长特征的细节。