Abstract: Oxygen atoms are major constituents of zeolites, whose arrangements in the framework play very important roles in determining the adsorptive and catalytic properties of the catalysts. In the past years, ¹⁷O solid-state NMR spectroscopy has become a powerful tool to study the shortrange order of the oxygen atoms in the framework of the zeolites. The studies using this technique have resulted in many insights into how the local structures of oxygen atoms are related to the properties of the catalysts. This review introduces significant advances in the ¹⁷O NMR studies of the zeolites during the last 20 years. A brief introduction to ¹⁷O solid-state NMR spectroscopy is also included.

Key words: NMR, solid-state, zeolite, molecular sieve, ¹⁷O