A compilation has been made of the X-ray powder diffraction patterns of the high Tc superconductor and related phases in the systems of Ba-R-Cu-O, Sr-R-Cu-O and Ca-R-Cu-O, where R = yttrium and lanthanides. In addition to the patterns of compounds found in these systems, other related compounds included are cation substitution products of the high Tc phases of Ba2RCu2O6+x, potential reaction products with different types of sample containers, and selected thin-film substrates. The International Centre for Diffraction Data/Powder Diffraction file (ICDD/PDF) coverage includes Sets 1 to 41. A cross correlation of these phases with those reported in Phase Diagrams For Ceramists (PDFC), has also been completed. Results of these efforts are tabulated.

The modulation of the lazurite structure has been determined by X-ray diffraction methods. The indexing of satellites on X-ray diffraction powder patterns has been made by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction patterns. The irrationality of the satellite distance from the basic reflections in some specimens of isotropic lazurite confirms the incommensurability of the wavelength of modulation by an edge magnitude of the sodalite subcell and the necessity of a fractional mineral lattice. X-ray diffraction powder data of lazurites with different periods of incommensurate-modulated structure are established. Modulation structure parameters are 0.217 and 0.175, respectively. Indexing of X-ray diffraction powder data of cubic Baikal lazurite suggested by the PDF editorial staff is considered.

The results of an international project involving five countries and seven laboratories performing over 400 analyses for testing the interlaboratory reproducibility and accuracy using quantitative powder diffraction are presented in this report. Four natural and four artificial mineral mixtures were examined. The RIR (reference intensity ratio) values for all mineral components were either measured or calculated. The relative standard deviation of the interlaboratory determinations range from 5 to 20 percent (for low concentrations, the relative standard deviations can attain 60% percent). Due to systematic errors, the relative standard deviations of the interlaboratory determinations generally exceed the standard deviations determined by individual laboratories. The best results were obtained when the RIR values were measured independendy in each laboratory.

X-ray powder patterns for the phases in the CaO-SrO-CuO ternary system, along with the corresponding crystal structures, were obtained from the literature and from the Powder Diffraction File. Available XRD patterns were compared with each other and with a calculated pattern for each phase, yielding a recommended reference pattern. The simulated powder patterns presented here deal with the phases found within the (Ca,Sr)O, (Ca,Sr)2CuO3, (Ca,Sr)14Cu24O41, (Ca,Sr)CuO2, (Ca,Sr)Cu2O3, and (Ca,Sr)Cu2O2 solid solution series and are recommended for the Powder Diffraction File (PDF).

In many experiments on X-ray stress analysis, the tilt angle Ψ shows that for a given peak the integrated intensity function of Ψ is not a constant. In this paper a geometric factor is described which corrects the integrated intensity in asymmetric X-ray diffraction. The defocussing effect, always present in asymmetric X-ray diffraction, reduces the number of diffracted X-ray photons registered by the detector. For a θ/2θ diffractometer, the new correction was found to be dependent on the divergence angle of source and detector slit, the tilt angle Ψ and the Bragg angle θ.

The experimental results corrected with the proposed factor are in good agreement with the theory in limits of acceptable errors.

In conventional multiphase Rietveld refinement, now being used for quantitative phase determination, the crystal structure of each phase needs to be known in order to generate a calculated standard pattern of the phase to be refined against the measured XRD pattern. This is a disadvantage when the structural data for a phase are imperfect or unknown and may prevent an analysis.

A method is given whereby a phase with an imperfectly known or unknown crystal structure can be included in a multiphase Rietveld refinement, with other well-characterised phases, by use of an empirical or “observed” hkl file for that phase, with the SIROQUANT software package. The amplitudes 1F(hkl)1 in the empirical hkl file of the phase generate a reference profile for it which agrees with a measured standard pattern of the phase. Methods are given for the creation and scaling of empirical or “observed” phase hkl datasets. The Rietveld variable parameters (preferred orientation, linewidth, lineshape and unit cell) are refinable in the usual way for a phase with an empirical hkl dataset.

A more accurate X-ray diffraction pattern for the high speed steel carbide Fe3W3C is presented. This pattern includes the low angle reflections omitted from previous studies. A wider homogeneity range for the M6C carbide phase at 1200° C is suggested.

Pyrolytic graphite is frequently used as a post diffraction monochromator with powder diffractometers of the Bragg-Brentano type. Curved graphite monochromators yield high intensities and suppress efficiently fluorescent radiation except from the element which is the same as the target element of the X-ray tube. They are not, however, able to separate the Kα1 line from the Kα2 component with the X-ray targets normally used in powder diffraction. Crystals with smaller mosaic spread than graphite are needed for selecting a pure Kα1 line. Commercially available crystals which are suitable for this purpose are asymmetrically cut curved quartz and germanium monochromators of the Johansson type. Experiments have been carried out in this laboratory with two quartz monochromators and one germanium monochromator.

Metal mepirizole perchlorates, M(C11H14N4O2)3 (C104)2 where M = Co(II) and Ni(II) have been investigated by means of X-ray powder diffraction. Unit cell dimensions were determined by indexing programs from diffractometer data. Refined cell parameters (monoclinic with a C-centered cell), calculated density and Z values are presented.

Powder data for the title compound have been published by Kwestroo and Paping (1959) (PDF 13-325) but neither unit cell nor indices were given. A diffractogram of this compound has been successfully indexed by the program TREOR (Eriksson and Westdahl, 1985) and the unit cell subsequently refined by a least squares procedure (Table 1).

Indexed X-ray powder diffraction data are reported for three tetrahydropyridinyl oxime cognition activators. For these drugs of formula C8H15N2O+Cl− powder diffraction data calculated from single crystal structure determinations are also presented and compared to the experimentally observed powder diffraction data. Comparison of experimental and calculated powder patterns assures that single crystals are good representatives of the commercial powdered samples.

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.

The compounds, BaR2Ti3O10: R = La, Pr, Nd and Sm; BaR2Ti4O12: R = La, Pr, Sm, Gd, Eu have been prepared by solid state reaction and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction. Unit cell data are summarised; lattice parameters and unit cell volumes increase approximately linearly with lanthanide ion size.

Recently, Dahan and co-workers (Dahan, 1991) suggested processing the XRD data by spreadsheet computer programs. Treated in this manner the XRD data became very flexible and made comparison with other data sets, as well as graphical presentation, much easier. In this note a simple FORTRAN 77 program for conversion of PC-APD data files into ASCII files suitable for import into spreadsheets is reported.

In our laboratory XRD data are collected on a Philips 1710 diffractometer operated by the PC-APD version 2.0 (PC-APD Software, 1989). Each experiment usually generates its files containing collected raw intensity data (.RD file), background data (.BK file) and file with peak positions and their intensities (.DI file). The XRD data can be further processed: after smoothing, data are stored in files with extension .SM (.SM file) and, after Kα2 stripping, into files with extension .A2 (.A2 file). All files are stored in the binary format.