Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 February 2011
A family of microporous and open-framework microporous transition metal silicates have been prepared by hydrothermal synthesis at T ≤ 240 °C. The structures of the compound are based on a common principle in which anionic silicate components (layers, chains, or cluster anions) are connected by isolated transition metal polyhedra by sharing four corners in a square arrangement. Known examples of this class of compounds are reviewed and some recent progress on extending the syntheses to include organic templates are discussed.