X-ray diffraction has many applications in the chemical and metallurgical industries, but its techniques have been confined until recently to the laboratory and to highly trained personnel. Conventional procedure entails photographic exposure, processing, and density comparisons of the finished film strips.

The Geiger counter spectrometer described below measures x-ray intensities and diffraction angles directly, without intermediate photographic steps. It is simple enough for unskilled operators performing routine industrial processes yet also meets the precise requirements of laboratory research. The instrument was developed at the Naval Research Laboratory, where it has been in regular use for the past two years.

The crystal structure of the spinel polymorph of Fe2SiO4, synthesized at high temperature (900°C) and high pressure (70 kbar), was studied by the Rietveld analysis of X-ray powder diffraction data collected with a Guinier-Hägg camera. The compound is cubic, space group , with cell dimension: a= 8.2413(6) Å, V= 559.8(1) Å3, Z= 8, Cell Wt. = 1630.2, Dx= 4.835 g·cm−3, Do= 4.75 g·cm−3. The figure of merit is F10= 92(0.011, 10). The final R value is RF= 0.058. The crystal has a mixed normal-inverse spinel structure. The site occupancy refinement showed that 37.9% of the silicon was found in the octahedral site (M site), while 18.9% of the iron occupied the tetrahedral site (T site). Due to the larger displacement of Si4+ion by Fe2+ion, the positional parameter of oxygen atom (0.3689) is smaller than that of X-ray single crystal structure (0.3658), and the average Si-O bond (1.697(1)Å) is longer and Fe-O bond (2.112(1)Å) is shorter than those of X-ray single crystal structure.

Tetragonal zirconia (t- ZrCO2) can be stabilized with 15 to 22 mol% YTaO4. X-ray powder diffraction data for the end members of the solid solution series Zr0.76Y0.12Ta0.12O2 and Zr0.66Y0.17Ta0.17O2 are reported along with lattice parameters across the single phase region. These tetragonal zirconias are characterized by large tetragonalities (c/ √ 2a > 1.0203) and nontransformability to the monoclinic structure.

Accurate powder diffraction data for the superconducting phase TlBa2Ca2Cu3O9−δ have been obtained. This phase crystallizes in a tetragonal unit cell, with space group P4/mmm. Cell refinement of our material resulted in a tetragonal unit cell with a=3.8453(8)Å and c = 15.909(4)Å. These diffraction data improve on data currently present in the powder diffraction file. Our experimental data also agree with calculated diffraction patterns obtained from published atom positions.

A nonlinear optical material, 4-chlorocinnamylidenyl-4′ -phenylacetophenone (C23H17ClO), has been characterized by X-ray powder diffraction. Experimental values of 2θ corrected for systematic errors, relative peak intensities, values of d, and the Miller indices of 94 observed reflections with 2θ up to 60° are reported. The powder diffraction data have been evaluated, and the figures-of-merit are reported. The unit cell parameters least-squares refined from 30 nonoverlapping peaks of the orthorhombic compound with a P21212 space group are a =14.756(3) Å, b = 20.647(8) Å, c = 5.840(1) Å, V = 1779.3(9) Å3, Z = 4, and Dx = 1.287 g/cm3.

Particle statistics in quantitative X-ray diffractometry relates to the number of particles (crystallites) contributing to the diffracted intensity for a given line. Variations in line intensity between replicate preparations of the same sample arise from statistical variations in the number of diffracting particles. The uncertainty in line intensity, and hence in quantitative estimates of analyte concentration, is termed the particle statistics error. A theoretical estimate of the error for stationary samples qives σPS=ξ[μ*〈v〉/c]1/2, where μ* is the mass absorption coefficient of the mixture, and 〈v〉 and c are the mean particle volume and mass concentration respectively of the analyte. The factor ξ is a function mainly of diffractometer geometry, but also contains contributions from rocking angle and reflection multiplicity. For measurements of the (112) quartz line with a Philips PW1050 vertical goniometer with 2o divergence slit and 0.3 mm receiving slit, ξ was calculated to be 116 g1/2 cm−5/2 for stationary samples. Three close-cut size fractions of quartz were prepared at various concentrations in a calcium carbonate matrix. Replicate preparations were measured and the standard deviation obtained as a function of particle volume and concentration. After correction for other contributing errors, including counting statistics and thermal fluctuations, the experimental value ξ=122±10 g1/2 cm−5/2 was obtained. The effect of sample spinning is considered briefly and predicted to reduce σPS by a factor of about 5. Experimentally, a reduction in σPS of about this order is observed, but the effect is rather variable.

X-ray powder diffraction data for Dichloro [bis(2-diphenylphosphinoethyl) phenylphosphine] [dimethylsulfoxide] Ruthenium (II) is reported. The powder pattern was obtained using CuKα radiation. The lattice parameters determinated by least-squares refinement for the monoclinic space group P21/c are: a = 21.073(3) Å, b = 11.970(2) Å, c = 16.889(3) Å, and β = 107.72(1)°, with M20 = 10.67 and F30 = 15.4 (0.0145, 134), and are in good agreement with those obtained from the single crystal structure determination. Observed and calculated X-ray powder diffraction data are given for the titled compound.

Two new VAX/VMS computer programs are presented for accessing and searching the Powder Diffraction File (PDF) (1989) of the JCPDS-International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD). The programs use binary mapped index files which affords rapid searches of the database. Program LOGIC permits entries in the database to be selected by chemistry, peak position or name constraints. The selected entries may be displayed, printed or graphed. The program can display or print entries from the full PDF-2 (1989) database, if on-line. Program SEARCH searches for patterns in the database which match an unknown set of peaks; the program may be optimized for a wide variety of applications including identification of component phases in mixtures. Commands may be entered to the programs in two modes. In the “novice-friendly” mode, users must answer questions to select options. However, experienced users may opt to use a concise one-line command syntax. The modes may be mixed.

The subject of the paper is the old and well-known linear least squares method for determining the lattice dimension of a crystalline phase from the peak locations of a powder diffraction pattern. Approximations, limits, and extensions of the method are discussed with reference to the assignment of hkl indices to an experimental multiphase pattern.

A synthetic catalyst precursor formed by sulfiding ferrihydrite (Fe3+O(OH)) in the presence of a hydrogen donor produces X-ray diffraction patterns resembling a mixture of both naturally occurring FeS2 polymorphs marcasite and pyrite. The diffraction peaks display a differential broadening, however, wherein only those peaks coincident to both marcasite and pyrite are strong and sharp, a feature that cannot be accounted for by a simple physical mixture. The broadening is analogous to that found in hexagonal cobalt, where occasional stacking faults produce interstratification of the hexagonal and cubic close-packed forms, resulting in strongly coherent diffraction only along the stacking direction. The crystal structures of marcasite and pyrite are virtually identical if viewed perpendicular to the (101) and (001) planes, respectively. Calculation of diffraction patterns based upon models of interstratifying marcasite and pyrite layers along these planes demonstrates that a sequence with marcasite-to-pyrite and pyrite-to-marcasite stacking fault probabilities of 0.22 provides a good fit to the experimental pattern. This interstratified material is a precursor to a species that shows catalytic activity for cleaving C-C bonds between aromatic rings and benzylic carbon atoms at low (<350 °C) temperatures.

A computer program for phase identification using powder diffraction data is presented. It works with a small database containing the unit-cell dimensions and Bravais lattice for chosen classes of inorganic substances. The algorithm works for single phase samples and such samples in which a single phase dominates. During the search, the peak positions generated using the reference unit cells are compared with the experimental ones. Unit-cell constants of all obtained solutions are (optionally) immediately refined. Application examples show that the method gives as possible solutions those database entries for which the cell dimensions differ from the investigated sample by not more than about 0.05 Å. These entries may include the true phase or isotypical phases unless the imposed chemical constraint does not exclude them. If the sample is a solid solution, then the algorithm is able to find phases of differing chemical composition belonging to the same solubility range (provided that the difference in lattice constants is not too large). One of the examples illustrates the possibility of application for electron-diffraction data.

The relative intensities ratios for the determination of the relative amounts of alpha and beta phases in silicon nitride and the relative amounts of delta yttrium disilicate (Y2Si2O7) and nitrogen apatite [Y5(SiO4)3N] are reported. These constants were determined using an iterative method applicable when the pure phases are not easily prepared. In addition, a calibration curve was obtained for the quantitative measurement of free silicon in silicon nitride over the range 0 to 0.3% by weight of Si.