There are 39 CRYSTMET® entries in the hexagonal space group P-3m1 (164) reporting both distinct pure phase compounds and atomic coordinates. Having the same Wyckoff positions in the same space group as the C6 structure type, all are isopointal with it. The range of observed c/a values extends from about 0.65 to 1.83. Three types are distinguished: Layered materials with CdI2 type, the CeCd2 type which is a slight distortion of the hexagonal AlB2 type, and the intermediate EuGe2 type made of the materials AuTe2, BaSi2, EuGe2, and SrGe2. Ab initio modeling of the 26 entries with CdI2 and EuGe2 type and atomic coordinates reproduces convincingly both their c/a axial ratios and z coordinates. For CoO2 and SiTe2, both c/a and z deviate to a degree from the reported values, indicating that those materials should be reexamined for superstructures, stoichiometry, etc. Ab initio modeling of the 11 cell-and-type entries with CdI2 type and no coordinates in CRYSTMET reproduced convincingly their reported axial ratios. The X-ray cell data and the ab initioz coordinates were then used in the production of reliable calculated powder patterns for CoTe2, CrSe2, HfS2, HfSe2, HfTe2, NbTe2, SnSe2, VS2, VTe2, ZrS2, and ZrTe2. All 11 patterns have been inserted in the intense diffraction line search system of CRYSTMET operated under the Materials Toolkit. Comparison of calculated patterns for SnSe2 and ZrTe2 with experimental entries in the PDF exposes the complementarity of calculated and experimental powder patterns and suggests that JCPDS pattern #15-223 should be reinterpreted in terms of the CdI2 structure type. The CeCd2⇔AlB2 type transformation is modeled and discussed on YCd2 using both ab initio methods and a hard-sphere model. For z<0.45, the ab initio solution is identical with that from the hard-sphere model while a quantum regime is predicted in the small region 0.45<z<0.467 beyond which YCd2 abruptly transforms to the AlB2 type. In spite of the new understanding gained, this modeling fell slightly short of allowing calculation of z values and powder patterns for the materials CaHg2, DyHg2, ErCd2, GdHg2, HoCd2, HoHg2, LuCd2, NdCd2, SmHg2, TbCd2, and TbHg2 with no coordinates in CRYSTMET.

Li(1−2x)NixTiO(PO4) oxyphosphate powders were prepared from dilute solutions of NiCl2⋅6H2O, Li2CO3, (NH4)2HPO4, and TiCl4 in ethanol. The final temperature was 850 °C. Li(1−2x)NixTiO(PO4) oxyphosphates with 0≤x≤0.10 crystallize in the orthorhombic system with space group Pnma, while those with 0.10<x≤0.25 crystallize in the monoclinic system with space group P21/c.

The crystal structure of Li2LaTa2O6N was determined from laboratory X-ray powder diffraction data (Cu Kα1) using the Rietveld method. The title compound is tetragonal with space group I4/mmm, Z=2, and unit-cell dimensions a=0.395 049(4) nm, c=1.850 97(3) nm, and V=0.288 869(6) nm3. The initial structural model was successfully derived by the direct methods and further refined by the Rietveld method, with the anisotropic atomic displacement parameters being assigned for all atoms. The final reliability indices were Rwp=5.73%, S=1.46, Rp=4.33%, RB=1.13%, and RF=0.53%. Li2LaTa2O6N has a layered perovskite structure similar to that of Li2LaTa2O7.

The compound NH4Fe[Fe(CN)6]·xH2O—a commercially available “Prussian blue” pigment—crystallizes in the Fm3m space group, a=10.232(1) Å, based on X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) data. XRPD investigations of other commercially available “Prussian blue” pigments and oil paints were undertaken. Results for the pigments showed that the XRPD techniques were able to differentiate several different Prussian blue phases that differed only slightly in chemical compositions. Results for the oil paints allowed for the determination of the major crystalline phases used as fillers. However, on the basis of XRPD investigations of oil paints prepared in our laboratory containing a mixture of true Prussian blue Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3·14H2O and BaSO4 (a common filler), the pigment was detectable only in concentrations higher than 2%. This result suggests that XRPD may not be a preferred technique for the identification of Prussian blue in paintings and other works of art because the concentration of this pigment in such materials is commonly less than 2%.

The powder pattern of Rb3Ta5O14 is reported here for the first time. Single crystals of Rb3Ta5O14 of 0.1–0.2 mm in size were grown using a RbCl flux at 1100 °C. The Rb3Ta5O14 powders were synthesized at 1200 °C by firing the Rb2CO3 and Ta2O5 raw materials with starting Rb/Ta ratios ranging from 0.450 to 0.800. The products with Rb/Ta ratios between 0.550 and 0.633 contained almost pure Rb3Ta5O14 with Rb/Ta ratio of 0.600, while those with Rb/Ta ratio larger than 0.677 also contained the α form of Rb4Ta6O17 with the Rb/Ta ratio of 0.677. Past studies of the synthesis and characterization of Rb4Ta6O17 should be carefully examined in the light of possible coexistence with Rb3Ta5O14, because the former structure has not been completely solved, and thus the powder pattern is inaccurate, while the presence of the latter had not been known until the present study.

Hydrothermal formation reaction of tobermorite in the autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) process has been investigated by in situ X-ray diffraction. High-energy X-rays from a synchrotron radiation source in combination with a newly developed autoclave cell and a photon-counting pixel array detector were used. XRD measurements were conducted in a temperature range 100–190°C throughout 12 h of reaction time with a time interval of 4.25 min under a saturated steam pressure. To clarify the tobermorite formation mechanism in the AAC process, the effect of Al addition on the tobermorite formation reaction was studied. As intermediate phases, non-crystalline calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), hydroxylellestadite (HE), and katoite (KA) were clearly observed. Consequently, it was confirmed that there were two reaction pathways via C-S-H and KA in the tobermorite formation reaction of Al containing system. In addition, detailed information on the structural changes during the hydrothermal reaction was obtained.

The structures of anhydrous nickel, niobium, and tantalum chlorides have been investigated in situ in acidic and basic ionic liquids (ILs) of 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium chloride (EMIC)/AlCl3 with X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The coordination of NiCl2 changes from tetrahedral in basic solution to octahedral in acidic solution. The NiCl2 is a strong Lewis acid in that it can induce the AlCl3 to share its chlorides in the highly acidic IL, forming a structure with six near Cl− ions and eight further distant Al ions which share the chloride ions surrounding the Ni2+. When Nb2Cl10, a dimer, is added to the acidic or basic solution, the dimer breaks apart and forms two species. In the acid solution, two trigonal bipyramids are formed with five equal chloride distances, while in the basic solution, a square pyramid with four chlorides forming a square base and one shorter axial chloride bond. Ta2Cl10 is also a dimer and divides into half in the acidic solution and forms two trigonal bipyramids. In the basic solution, the dimer breaks apart but the species formed is sufficiently acidic that it attracts two additional chloride ions and forms a seven coordinated tantalum species.

Si–SiC composite (reaction bonded SiC) with a submicron SiC microstructure (starting SiC particle size: 0.22 μm) was examined by XRD analysis to determine the amount and phase composition of the secondary SiC formed by the reaction between silicon and carbon during the sintering process. It was found that the secondary SiC has grown onto the original hexagonal α-SiC grains as well as into the porosity of the green body. An increase of 3C–SiC was found within the microstructure after infiltration (from 2.6 wt. % before infiltration to 8.8 wt. % after infiltration) whereas the 4H-ploytype content was reduced. This behavior may be explained by the very small original SiC grains which acted as seeds for disoriented SiC growth and were assumed to force the nonepitaxically deposition of secondary SiC. Solid state and fast transportation processes caused the observed transformation of the SiC. Examinations of the silicon source (infiltrant) after the infiltration procedure showed that most of the carbon was converted to SiC with cubic modification (3C stacking sequence)

To minimize waste, improve process safety, and reduce costs, modifications were implemented to a method for quantifying gallium in plutonium metal using wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence. These changes included reducing sample sizes, reducing ion exchange process volumes, using cheaper reagent grade acids, eliminating the use of HF acid, and using more robust containment films for sample analysis. Relative precision and accuracy achieved from analyzing multiple aliquots from a single parent sample were approximately 0.2 and 0.1%, respectively. The same precision was obtained from analyzing a total of four parent materials, and the average relative accuracy from all the samples was 0.4%, which is within programmatic uncertainty requirements.

A computer program for refining anomalous scattering factors using x-ray powder diffraction data was revised on the basis of the latest version of a versatile pattern-fitting system, RIETAN-2000. The effectiveness of the resulting program was confirmed by applying it to simulated and measured powder-diffraction patterns of Mn3O4 taken at a synchrotron light source.

In this work, zinc oxide samples were obtained from hydroxycarbonate by thermal decomposition at 300 °C. Zinc hydroxycarbonate samples were produced by homogeneous precipitation over different periods of time. The method used to obtain zinc oxide produces different morphologies as a function of the precursor precipitation time. Among the obtained particle shapes were porous spherical aggregates, spherulitic needle aggregates, and single acicular particles. This work investigated spherulitic needle-aggregate formation and the correlation among morphology, domain size, and microstrain. Transmission electron microscopy data revealed that the acicular particles that form the spherulitic needle aggregates consist of nanometer crystallites. Apparent crystallite size and microstrain in the directions perpendicular to (h00), (h0l), (hk0), and (00l) planes were invariable as a function of precursor precipitation time. From the results, it was possible to conclude that the precursor precipitation period directly influenced the morphology of the zinc oxide but did not influence average crystallite size and microstrain for ZnO samples. Therefore, using this route, it was possible to prepare zinc oxide with different morphologies without microstructural alterations.

X-ray powder diffraction data, unit-cell parameters, and space group for a new succinylcholine iodide polymorph II, C14H30O4N2I2, are reported [a=13.908(3) Å, b=13.184(3) Å, c=11.717(2) Å, β=92.501(3)°, unit-cell volume V=2146,28 Å3, Z=4, space group P21/c]. All measured lines with the exception of one were indexed and are consistent with the P21/c space group. No detectable impurities were observed.

X-ray powder data originally published for the zeolite mineral goosecreekite are of poor quality. The new data reported here for material from Norway are compared with powder data calculated from the published structure. The cell is monoclinic (space group P21, Z=2), a=7.422(2) Å, b=17.414(4) Å, c=7.288(2) Å, β=105.43(3)°, V=907.9(3) Å3. F30=32.75(0.023,40).

An orthorhombic fully ordered structural model is proposed for vaterite [space group Ama2, a=8.4721(5) Å, b=7.1575(7) Å, c=4.1265(4) Å, Z=4, and V=250.23(4) Å3]. It is based on a microtwinning hypothesis, with three domains rotated by 120° along the orthorhombic a axis, regenerating a pseudohexagonal habit. The solution came from direct space ab initio calculations applied to the powder diffraction data. However, five weak superstructure reflections seen in single-crystal and powder diffraction experiments, leading to a six times larger unit cell, are still unexplained.