The first object was to develop an X-ray diffractometric method for the detection and quantification of crystalline sucrose when it occurs as a mixture with amorphous sucrose. Standards consisting of amorphous sucrose physically mixed with 1 to 5 weight percent crystalline sucrose were prepared. The sum of the background subtracted integrated intensities of the 12.7°2θ (6.94 Å) and 13.1°2θ (6.73 Å) sucrose diffraction peaks were linearly related to the weight percent crystalline sucrose. The limits of detection and quantitation of crystalline sucrose were 0.9% and 1.8% w/w, respectively. The second object was to study the kinetics of crystallization of sucrose as a function of temperature (at 102, 105 and 110 °C under a water vapor pressure of 0 Torr) and water vapor pressure (17.4, 19.8 and 21.4 Torr at 27 °C). In all cases, the crystallization kinetics was best described by the Avrami-Erofe’ev model (three-dimensional nucleation).

The trihydrated ammonium trioxalato-chromate(III) (NH4)3 (Cr(C2O4)3)·3H2O crystallizes in the triclinic system with:

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The X-ray powder diffraction pattern for the title compound is reported in the range 10<2θ<60°. The sample was purified by recrystallization and was indexed using the program DICVOL91 and TREOR90. Refined unit parameters for the orthorhombic system (Pnma or Pn21a) are: a=13.7098(8) Å, b=10.7153(7) Å, c=6.9473(4) Å, V=1020.59 Å3, Z=4, Dx=2.50 g cm−3. M20=49, F30=93(0.0075, 43).

Experimental X-ray powder diffraction patterns and refined unit cell parameters for two barium hollandite-type compounds, BaxFe2xTi8−2xO16, with x=1.143 and 1.333, are reported here. Compared to the tetragonal parent structure, both compounds exhibit monoclinic distortions that increase with Ba content [Ba1.333Fe2.666Ti5.334O16: a=10.2328(8), b=2.9777(4), c=9.899(1) Å, β=91.04(1)°, V=301.58(5) Å3, Z=1, ρcalc=4.64 g/cc; Ba1.143Fe2.286Ti5.714O16: a=10.1066(6), b=2.9690(3), c=10.064(2) Å, β=90.077(6)°, V=301.98(4) Å3, Z=1, ρcalc=4.48 g/cc]. The X-ray powder patterns for both phases contain a number of broad, weak superlattice peaks attributed to ordering of the Ba2+ ions within the tunnels of the hollandite framework structure. According to the criteria developed by Cheary and Squadrito [Acta Crystallogr. B 45, 205 (1989)], the observed positions of the (0k1)/(1k0) superlattice peaks are consistent with the nominal x-values of both compounds, and the k values calculated from the corresponding d-spacings suggest that the Ba ordering within the tunnels is commensurate for x=1.333 and incommensurate for x=1.143. High-temperature X-ray diffraction data indicate that the x=1.333 compound undergoes a monoclinic→tetragonal phase transition between 310 and 360 °C.

The application of the Rietveld method to quantify mineral components of bauxite and lateritic samples was carried out in order to determine the ability of the method to obtain accurate mineralogical abundances for these materials. The method was initially applied to synthetic mixtures using both Cu and Co Kα radiations, and it was shown that Rietveld-derived data compared favourably with the weighed compositions. Application to two types of natural bauxite resulted in a high correlation between Rietveld predicted values and those calculated by proportioning peak intensities with chemical assays. The use of the whole pattern rather than selected peak intensities gives greater accuracy, confirmed by a strong correlation between derived oxide concentrations from XRF assays. Accuracy and precision were improved by the determination of isomorphous substitution of aluminum in goethite and hematite by refinement of unit cell dimensions. Importantly, the ability of the Rietveld program to successfully model several goethites with different levels of isomorphous substitution improved the correlation between predicted and calculated values. In addition, crystallinity and crystallite size that influence the reactivity of the mineral components can be derived from refined peak profiles.

Plant surfaces are mostly covered with microscopic layers of wax which exhibit characteristic morphologies, visible under high magnification. Waxes belonging to three different types were investigated. Powder data of seven natural and three recrystallised waxes as well as of two isolated compounds are presented. The mainly crystalline nature of the studied plant waxes is proved. The correlation between morphology, chemical composition, and powder patterns is discussed.

Metal cimetidine isothiocyanates, M(C10H16SN6)2(NCS)2, where M = Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II), have been investigated by means of X-ray powder diffraction. Unit cell dimensions were determined from powder diffractometer data. Refined cell parameters (monoclinic with a primitive cell), powder data, calculated densities and Z value are presented.

Considering the thermal expansion of silicon at ambient conditions, the lattice parameter will change 0.00032 Å for a 10 °C range. This range is measurable with modern diffraction instrumentation illustrating the importance of knowing the accurate lattice parameter, the temperature of measurement, and the thermal expansion coefficient. The best value for the expansion coefficient is 2.45×10−6/°C.

The incommensurately modulated structure of Bi2Sr2Eu1.3Ce0.7Cu2O10.17, with a = 5.4752(4) Å, b = 5.4522(3) Å, c = 17.860(1) Å, Z = 2, was refined by the GJANA program [Gao et al., Acta Cryst. A 49, 141 (1993)] from X-ray powder data in C:C2mb: 111 four-dimensional space group (Rov = 0.064, Rm = 0.041, Rsat = 0.202, Rp = 0.049, Rwp = 0.065). Displacive modulation parameters of all cations and oxygen atoms in the Bi-layer were involved in the refinement. Obtained results including the modulation parameters are in agreement with those found for the similar phase Bi2Sr1.7Nd1.8Ce0.5Cu2O10+δ from single-crystal data [Mironov et al., J. Solid State Chem. 109, 74 (1994)].

A resident powder diffractometer control program is described, which allows independent use of the PC for other programs during data collection. The control program and a simple interface card were developed for the case when a PC is used to automate the DRON type diffractometers.

The analysis of crystalline organic phases by X-ray powder diffraction presents special problems, beyond those typically associated with inorganic materials. The large unit cells often associated with organic compounds, combined with the low symmetry of the structures, give rather complicated diffraction patterns that contain many low angle lines. The Bragg–Brentano geometric arrangement employed in most commercial diffractometers gives maximum (d-spacing error at low diffraction angles. This geometry, in turn, means that not only can the large (d-spacing data be of poor quality, but also that much of the low angle data required for the indexing of the pattern is subject to large errors.

Plane analytical geometry has been used to derive formulas of peak shifts due to specimen geometry and beam divergence of X-ray diffractometers in a Seemann–Bohlin configuration. When the attenuated diffraction below the specimen surface is not considered, peak shifts depend on Bragg angle (θ), incident beam divergence (2α), curvature radius of the specimen surface (r), and the tilt angle of the specimen (ψ). Numerical results show that at any fixed Bragg angle value, the peak shift increases with 2α whatever the combination of r and ψ values are. Moreover, at any fixed value of both Bragg angle and beam divergence, the peak shift depends directly on |ψ| and inversely on |r|. Shifts of peaks have been compared on both goniometer circle (Δ2θS) and focusing circle (Δ2θP). The results show that when ψ>0, then (Δ2θS) is less than (Δ2θP). On the contrary, when ψ<0, then (Δ2θS) is greater than (Δ2θP). Both (Δ2θS) and (Δ2θP) increase when the Bragg angle is decreased under the same fixed set of ψ, 2α, and r values. These peak shifts are so high that lattice strains may be masked at either high values of |ψ| and 2α, or small |r| values.

New X-ray powder data and a refined cell for mellite are presented and evaluated in comparison with the current PDF 28-2001.

Improved powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data for liottite and sacrofanite, two members of the cancrinite group of minerals, were obtained using a rotating anode diffractometer. The cell parameters of liottite are a = 12.8575(3), c = 16.0905(6) Å, and the space group is ; the strongest reflections are at 4.834(38), 3.783(12), 3.714(100), 3.312(91), 2.784(13), 2.682(26), 2.470(17), and 2.143(27) Å. The cell parameters of sacrofanite are a = 12.8945(4) and c =74.2128(37) Å, and the possible space groups are P63/mmc, P63mc, and ; the strongest reflections are at 11.18(23), 3.757(25), 3.723(100), 3.488(27), 3.302(62), 2.651(31), 2.645(30), and 2.149(18) Å. The new data include an increased number of indexed peaks and empirical formulae that differ from the reference data (PDF 29-1187 and PDF 35-653, respectively).

Plastic crystals, such as neopentylglycol, 2, 2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol, that exhibit polymorphic behavior are emerging materials for thermal energy storage. The energy is stored isothermally in the γ phase, FCC, during solid-state phase transformations. This γ phase of NPG has been determined as an orientational disordered phase. The low temperature α phase structure, which is of great significance in the evaluation of lattice expansions and other parameters, was first determined in 1961. However, the reported unit cell dimensions and the intensities of the reflections led to erroneous indexing of the powder patterns in binary systems. The α phase structure is redetermined here as monoclinic, M= 104.15 amu, space group P21/n (an alternate setting of , space group No. 14), a = 5.979(1)Å, b= 10.876(2)Å, c=10.099(2)Å, β=99.78(1)°, V=647.2(2)Å3 at 20°(± 1)C, Dx= 1.069 g cm s−3 for Z=4. In this paper the redetermined structure of the α phase of NPG is presented in projections of the atomic positions, in tables, and in calculated powder pattern and these results are compared with those reported by others. The powder patterns obtained from the Bragg–Brentano diffractometer are compared with our calculated pattern from the single crystal data. The structural parameters of the high temperature phase of NPG as determined by a Guinier diffraction system are also reported.