Introduction Molecular sieves are stable, crystalline materials with nanometer-sized pores and which have found many applications in water softening, wastewater treatment, odor control, cracking catalysts in the oil industry and many other fields. They can have a wide range of chemical compositions like silicate, aluminophosphate and all-carbon molecular sieves, to name a few. They can be synthesized using traditional hydrothermal methods or the recent ionothermal methods. In hydrothermal methods, a typical zeolite synthesis consists of a mixture of water, a source of framework atoms, a mineralizing agent and a structure-directing agent (SDA). For the ion thermal methods, an ionic liquid serves as the solvent and/or the structure-directing agent (Sun et al., 1). Traditionally, tetrapropylammonium bromide ([TPA][Br]) is used as the SDA. In this work, the researchers used three different molten salts Tetrabutylammonium bromide ([TBA][Br]), tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate ([TBA][PF6]), tetrabutylammonium nitrate ([TBA][NO3]) and an ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([emim][Br]) were used as SDA. [TPA]Br] was also used to act as the experimental control. The salts contained tetrapropylammonium [TPA] and tetrabutylammonium [TBA] cations to compare the effect of alkyl chain length on the formation of silicate material. Those salts with [TBA] as the cation had different anions to investigate influence of anions on the framework. Two known materials were the products synthesized after this experiment depending on the salt or ionic liquid used: either a porous silicate of MFI-type framework or the densely layered silicate magadiite which is not porous. Experimental procedure Materials were prepared hydrothermally based on the method used to synthesize pure silica ZSM-5, a zeolite of MFI-type framework. Water, salt (SDA) or ionic liquid, base (NaOH) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) were combined in a molar ratio 0.072: 0.030: 0.37: 9.2 respectively then stirred for 2 hours. The reaction mixture was charged into autoclaves which were then placed in an oven at 150oC for 44 hours. The precipitate was washed with water, followed by acetone (for [TPA][PF6] only) and air-dried at room temperature. Analysis was done using an X-ray diffractometer and the resulting patterns compared to those available in the literature. Results Each of the synthesis mixtures yielded a white product. Only in presence of [TPA][Br] was a product synthesized with X-ray diffractometer patterns (XRD) characteristic of a porous pure silica zeolite with the MFI-type framework. In the presence of either [TBA][Br], [TBA][PF6], [TBA][NO3] or [emim][Br], products synthesized showed X-ray diffractometer patterns characteristic of magadiite (NaSi7O13(OH)3·4(H2O)) which is a dense material with a silicate layer and whose synthesis does not commonly require an SDA. The addition of either [TBA][Br], [TBA][PF 6 ], [TBA][NO 3 ] or [emim][Br] therefore neither enhanced nor inhibited the formation of magadiite; they merely served as co-solvents. The lengthening of alkyl group from propyl to butyl led to MFI framework not being formed. The larger cation did not provide the necessary van der Waals forces to make MFI. Comments The researchers in this experiment should have provided more discussion on the influence of anions in the framework