As part of a study on the fundamental properties of BeO, the surface area, particle size, and crystallite size of BeO powders prepared from different source materials were measured. The results obtained by means of small-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray line-broadening have been compared with electron micrographs and surface area values by air permeability, nitrogen adsorption, and water-vapor adsorption.
Small-angle scattering data were analyzed to yield particle size distribution curves as well as surface areas for various calcined BeO samples. Line-broadening measurements were made to determine mean crystallite dimensions of these same materials. By using both photographic film and automatic recording techniques, crystallite sizes from about 50 to over 5000 A were estimated. The rate of growth of BeO crystals from beryllium hydroxide, beryllium sulfate, and beryllium oxalate source materials has been followed by these complementary techniques.