Taking |D(H2O)x|[AlSiO4] based materials (where D is Li, Na, K, Rb or Cs) as an archetypal aluminosilicate system, we use accurate density functional theory calculations to demonstrate how the substitution of silicon cations in silica, with pairs of aluminium and (alkali metal) cations, changes the energetic ordering of different competing structure-types. For large alkali metal cations we further show that the formation of porous aluminosilicate structures, the so-called zeolites, is energetically favored. These findings unequivocally demonstrate that zeolites can be energetic preferred reaction products, rather than being kinetically determined, and that the size of the (hydrated) cations in the pore, be it inorganic or organic, is critical for directing zeolite synthesis.
