X-ray powder diffraction was used to analyze and evaluate 11 samples of traditional Chinese medicine, Costustoot, found at various locations in China. A reference fingerprint pattern with 48 characteristic peaks for Costustoot was obtained from X-ray diffraction patterns of six Costustoots from the rhizomes of Aucklandia lappa Decne. The reference fingerprint pattern with 48 characteristic peaks for Costustoot was then used to evaluate the remaining five Costustoot materials. X-ray diffraction results show that the X-ray diffraction Fourier fingerprint pattern method can be used for rapid classification, identification, and quality control of Costustoots.

Europium nitride (EuN), which is potentially used as an activator for nitride luminescent materials, was prepared by direct nitridation at 600 °C in a NH3 atmosphere. X-ray powder diffraction and composition analysis of the nitrided sample were carefully conducted under an oxygen-free environment. The nitrided sample was found to be mononitride with NaCl structure. An appreciable amount of oxygen (∼0.06 a.u.) was detected, but no secondary oxide phase was found. The results suggest oxygen dissolution into the lattice of EuN.

The hydration of ordinary Portland cements (OPC) was investigated with X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) technique, mainly using synchrotron radiation. In situ experiments were performed during the first hours of hydration to study the evolution of the crystalline phases in the system. The hydration was carried out with pure water and in the presence of additives such as superplasticizers and setting accelerating agents. As soon as water is added to the cement, ettringite crystallizes. Its evolution appears to be very complex, and lattice parameters change as a function of setting time, indicating a possible chemical evolution of ettringite with time and as a function of pH. CSH (Ca-Si-hydrate) forms after a few hours from the beginning of hydration. CSH can be indirectly quantified and its evolution studied.

A commercially available solid-state multiple strip detector was successfully used to perform reciprocal space mapping and to significantly reduce the data collection time as compared to conventional setups. The quality of the data benefits from the detector’s unique properties such as a high local linearity range and high dynamic range. This paper describes maps of symmetrical and asymmetrical reflections taken on different kinds of samples. A quasiperfect AlGaAs∕GaAs Multiquantum Well Structures (MQW) was used to evaluate details about the instrumental function. The main application of the proposed setup is for less perfect materials similar to GaN-based structures. A study of the thermal stability of a metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition grown InGaN∕GaN MQW by means of in situ temperature-dependent reciprocal space mapping demonstrates the possibilities of the new setup.

For research facilities with access to synchrotron X-ray sources, X-ray absorption microtomography (XMT) has evolved from an experimental imaging method to a specialized, if not yet routine, microscopy for imaging the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of linear attenuation coefficients and, in some cases, elemental concentration with micron spatial resolution. Recent advances in source and detector design have produced conventional X-ray source instruments with comparable spatial resolution but with lower throughput and without element specific imaging. Both classes of instrument produce 3D images for analysis. We discuss an integrated approach for the implementation of analytical XMT to support basic research into the structure-property relationships of a variety of materials. The essential components include instrumentation for collecting quantitative 3D images, a 3D image processing environment to address questions as to the quantity, composition, geometry, and relationships among the features in one or more images, and visualization to provide insight and communicate results. We give examples of image analysis of resolved and unresolved pore spaces of sandstones.

A novel method for preparing thin films was investigated for quantifying gallium and iron in plutonium solutions using WDXRF. This technique was developed to eliminate the potential for radioactive liquid to leak into the spectrometer, decrease specimen preparation time, and minimize waste. Samples were cast in μL quantities onto Kapton, and a surfactant was added to disperse the solution uniformly across the Kapton. After drying the specimens, they were sealed in a cell for analysis. Results to date indicate the method can provide a relative precision of ∼0.5% for gallium and ∼2% for iron, which is more than sufficient for routine sample analyses.

Gallium iron oxide GaFeO3 and the substituted GaFeO3 with Cr and Mn, i.e., Ga(Fe0.95Me0.05)O3, and (Ga0.95Me0.05)FeO3; Me=Cr and Mn, have been synthesized and investigated by X-ray powder diffraction. The refined structural parameters of the considered samples using the Rietveld technique showed a considerable distortion in the polyhedron around different cations, which may have an effect on the piezoelectricity of the studied samples. There are also changes in the interatomic distances between different cations, which may have a direct influence on the ferromagnetic properties of the samples. Crystallite size and microstrain are anisotropic and the largest along the b axis, which may be responsible for the piezoelectricity. The correlations between all these changeable parameters will be discussed.

A series of mixed fluoride compositions with PbF2 and ScF3 were prepared by heating the intimate mixtures of component fluorides at 600 °C for 10 h followed by slowly cooling to room temperature. The products obtained were analyzed by powder XRD to reveal the phases present in them and hence the low-temperature phase equilibria in the PbF2-ScF3 system. The phase equilibria show the fluorite-type solid solution up to the composition of about 15 mol% of ScF3 in the PbF2 lattice. The unit cell volume decreases with increasing ScF3 contents in the fluorite-type solid solutions. Beyond the solubility limit, the biphasic mixture of the cubic fluorite-type solid solution and leftover ScF3 is found to exist.

The crystal structures of Mn, Zn, and Cd nitroprussides in their anhydrous state, M[Fe(CN)5NO] (M=Mn, Zn, Cd), were refined from XRD powder patterns using the Rietveld method. These compounds have a porous framework useful for adsorption and storage of small molecules. Water crystallization can be removed by heating below 100 °C without disrupting the 3D network by introducing certain structural modification mainly around the M site (Mn, Zn, Cd). For M=Mn and Cd, the compounds were found to be orthorhombic with space group Pnma [Mn:a=13.7844(1), b=7.3750(2), c=10.9470(2) Å, V=1112.8(1) Å3, Z=4; Cd:a=13.9566(3), b=7.5040(4), c=11.0230(2) Å, V=1154.4(1) Å3, Z=4]. Anhydrous zinc nitroprusside crystallizes in rhombohedral with space group R3 [a=b=19.2525(1), c=17.7107(2) Å, γ=120.0°, V=5685.1(1) Å3, Z=18]. When exposed to humid air, these anhydrous compounds become hydrated. The XRD powder patterns were recorded under vacuum on samples dehydrated in situ. The structural information from XRD was complemented with thermo-gravimetric, infrared, and Mössbauer data.

Four heterometallic carbonyl complexes: (1) Cp(CO)2MnPt(μ-C=CHPh)dppm) (2) [Cp(CO)2MnCu(μ-C=CHPh)(μ-Cl)]2, (3) CpMnFe2(μ3-C=CHPh)(CO)8, and (4) η4-[Cp(CO)2MnC(CO)CHPh]Fe(CO)3 have been studied by X-ray powder diffraction and their unit cell parameters are reported. Orthorhombic cell parameters for complex (1) are a=18.5719(14) Å, b=18.6092(14) Å, c=23.8117(18) Å, Z=8, space group Pbca. Monoclinic cell parameters found for complex (2) are a=11.5816(5) Å, b=7.9784(5) Å, c=16.7819(7) Å, β=105.460(2)°, Z=2, space group P21∕n. Orthorhombic cell parameters for complex (3) are a=13.5260(9) Å, b=15.1487(10) Å, c=10.3330(6) Å, Z=4, space group Pna21. Monoclinic cell parameters for complex (4) are a=10.3545(45) Å, b=8.0002(43) Å, c=21.8355(95) Å, β=102.89(2), Z=4, space group P21∕c. Parameters found for complexes (1–4) are in good agreement with those obtained from single crystal X-ray diffractometry.

A simple method is described that uses a KCl powder sample and a digital camera to monitor the size, location, and inhomogeneity of the incident X-ray beam in a powder diffractometer. The method has been used successfully to detect problems in the sample holder and the divergence slit of a powder diffractometer used in our laboratory.