A new method is used in measuring the linear thermal expansion coefficients in composite consisting of a substrate Gd3Ga2Ga3O12 (GGG) and its epitaxial layer Y3Fe2Fe3O12 (YIG) within the temperature range 13.88 °C–32.50 °C. The results show that the thermal expansion coefficient of GGG in composite is larger than that of the GGG in single crystal; the thermal expansion coefficient of thick film YIG is also larger than that of thin film. The results also show that the thermal expansion coefficient of a composite consisting of film and its substrate can be measured by using a new method.

The anhydrous and hydrated lithium monoborates have been studied. The most hydrated phase is LiBO2·8H2O; its structural formula in the P3 space group is Li(H2O)4B(OH)4·2H2O. Refinement of the cell parameters yielded the following results: a=6.5483(5) Å, c=6.1692(7) Å with F(30)=64(0.015, 32), Z=1, and Dx=1.402 g/cm3. This phase gives LiB(OH)4 by spontaneous dehydration. An X-ray powder diffraction study of LiB(OH)4 as a function of temperature indicated three poorly crystallized hydrates. Two of these hydrates have the formula LiBO2·0.3H2O; the other, LiBO2·xH2O, has an undetermined water content. Crystal data for α-LiBO2 have been obtained: a=5.8473(10) Å, b=4.3513(6) Å, c=6.4557(10) Å, β=115.08(1)°, F(27)=58.5(0.001, 41); space group P21/c, Z=4, and Dx=2.18 g/cm3. β-LiBO2 does not exist but corresponds to the α-LiBO2 form observed at 600 °C. Numerous other LiBO2 forms reported recently have not been found.

A new compound [Mn(H2O)]0.25(VO)0.75PO4·2H2O was prepared by the reaction of V2O5 with the boiling aqueous solution of H3PO4 and KMnO4. The reaction product is a yellow-brown powder, stable in air. The tetragonal unit-cell parameters (298 K) are a = 6.2034(2)Å, c = 13.814(1)Å, V = 531.59Å3, Z = 4, Mr = 194.94, Dx = 2.493 g/cm3, Dexp = 2.52 g/cm3. X-ray (CoKα radiation) powder diffraction data (35 lines) are reported. The compound's structure is probably derived from the VOPO4·2H2O layered lattice by substitution of [Mn(H2O)]3+ ions for a quarter of the vanadyl groups VO3+. Practically the same powder data and unit-cell parameters were found for [Mn(H2O)]x(VO)1−xPO4·2H2O, where x ranges from 0.185 to 0.25.

With a new emphasis on the control of polymorphism in pharmaceutical production, the need for methods to quantify polymorphic forms has arisen. Techniques using X-ray powder diffraction are increasingly being used to characterize the phases of drug substances that exist in multiple crystal forms. Current methods to identify the polymorphic phases in a drug substance include microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis (DSC/TGA), solid state NMR, and X-ray powder diffraction. Of the aforementioned techniques, X-ray powder diffraction provides the most effective approach to identify and quantify the different crystal phases of a pharmaceutical compound. This work is intended as a guide to the characterization and quantification of an organic crystalline system using X-ray diffraction. The approaches suggested are intended to provide assistance not only from an in-process pharmaceutical manufacturing standpoint, but also for routine quality assurance screening of polymorphic drug substances.

Most modern X-ray powder diffraction work is carried out using the parafocusing powder diffractometer. The typical instrument employs a mechanical goniometer to control the basic geometric movements required for recording diffraction data. Modern trends toward high speed data acquisition and computerized analytical procedures make the need for a well designed and well maintained goniometer system increasingly critical. This paper reviews the mechanical design parameters of typical goniometer systems in light of their influence on the accuracy and precision obtainable in diffraction data. Data on typical vertical and horizontal goniometer systems are compared, along with bench tests using a state of the art “anti-backlash” gearing system. By examining the nature of the errors typically encountered in today's goniometers it becomes evident why the next major improvement will likely be in software rather than hardware.

A lattice metric singularity occurs when unit cells defining two (or more) lattices yield the identical set of unique calculated d-spacings. The existence of such singularities, therefore, has a practical impact on the indexing of powder patterns. For example, when experimental data from ζ-LiBO2 were indexed, two solutions (a rhombohedral and a monoclinic lattice) with approximately the same figure of merit were found. These two lattices yield the same set of unique d-spacings even though they are characterized by different reduced cells with cell volumes in the ratio 2 to 1. From the indexing point of view, both answers are correct. A singularity of this type is common and not a mathematical rarity. In fact, any rhombohedral cell of this kind has a derivative monoclinic subcell, each of which gives the same set of unique calculated d-spacings. In actual cases like this, one can run into a trap. Due to experimental error and input parameters, an indexing program may determine only one of the cells with a high figure of merit. When this happens, it is critical to recognize that another solution exists, especially if one has determined the lower symmetry lattice.

Pentastrontium bromidephosphate, Sr5(PO4)3Br, was prepared by solid state reaction. The crystal structure of polycrystalline Sr5(PO4)3Br was refined from X-ray powder diffraction data by the Rietveld method using the structure model of Sr5(PO4)3Cl single crystals. Sr5(PO4)3Br is isostructural with Sr5(PO4)3Cl. The space group is P63/m. The cell parameters are a0=9.9641(1) Å, c0=7.2070(1) Å, α=β=90°, γ=120°, Z=2, d(calc)=4.27 g/cm3, and d(expt)=4.10 g/cm3. Atomic parameters are given. Final values are Rp=10.9%, Rwp=14.3%, and S=1.28. The figure of merit is F30=58 (0.013, 39).

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.

A complete set of d spacings, intensities, and h, k, l indexes for Ti2AlN has been determined from X-ray powder diffraction. The lattice parameters are a=2.989(2) Å, c=13.614(5) Å; in good agreement with previous work. The new set of results comprises seven reflections not present in the current Ti2AlN PDF card No. 18-70. Furthermore, a new set of relative intensities are reported that are in better agreement with the calculated values than they are with those listed in the PDF card.

We report precision X-ray powder-diffraction (XRD) data of single phase pure Ti2ZrAl. Ti2ZrAl samples were prepared by an arc melting method and annealed at 1000 °C for 30 days. XRD analysis was carried out on these samples and it was found that Ti2ZrAl has a DO19 structure (space group P63/mmc, No. 194). The lattice parameters are found to be a=5.961±0.001 Å and c=4.793±0.001 Å.

Rigid bodies provide a way to simplify the model used in a crystallographic refinement by removing parameters that describe degrees of freedom that are unlikely to change based on chemical experience. The GSAS software package provides a powerful implementation of rigid bodies that allows for refinement of classes of bond lengths, grouping of bodies to further reduce parameterization and where atomic motion can be described from group displacement parameters (TLS) representation. However, use of rigid bodies in GSAS is complex to learn and time-consuming to perform. This paper describes how the rigid body definition process has been simplified and extended through implementation in the EXPGUI interface to GSAS.

A method is described for determining the magnitude and sense of systematic errors in x-ray diffractometer stress measurements produced by focusing aberrations during diffraction from imperfect specimen contours and wide horizontal beam divergences. Corrections for such systematic errors are presently not made. However, if the highest accuracy and/or absolute values of stress are desired, these must be either taken into account or minimized by control of beam geometry. Equations and computer data are presented to indicate the errors in 2θ and stress (σ) resulting from use of flat, various convex and concave curvatures for primary beam divergences of 1° to 3°, Stress errors are calculated for both the parafocus technique of beam focusing and the stationary or non-focusing method.

The results show that convex and flat specimens always produce negative 2θ deviations from the condition of perfect focus and thus a net positive or tensile stress error. The magnitude of this error increases as the radius of the convex shape decreases and/or the ψangle and beam divergence is increased. Concave specimens with curvatures less than the radius of the concave shape required for perfect focus (see body of report) produce positive 2θ deviations and, therefore, negative or com-pressive stress errors.

The stationary or non-focusing technique produced systematic errors which were 1/3 of those produced by focusing aberrations with the parafocus technique. Fortunately, in both cases the actual errors are not very large (less than ±7.5 ksi), even with divergent beams as large as 3° and convex radii as small as 125”.

X-ray powder patterns for the phases in the CaO-SrO-PbO 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 simulated pattern for each phase, yielding a recommended reference pattern. The simulated powder patterns presented here deal with the phases found within the (Ca,Sr)2PbO4solid solution series and are recommended for the Powder Diffraction File (PDF).

Chapmanite, Sb(OH)Fe2(SiO4)2 is a rare mineral that generally occurs as yellow coatings on rocks from antimony mines. The very small dimensions of the crystals prevented X-ray, single-crystal study of the mineral whose structure was derived through high voltage electron diffraction (Zhukhlistov and Zvyagin, 1977). The present study confirm the correctness of the structure determined by those authors and also shows the effectiveness of the Rietveld method in the case of highly diluted phases. The structure of chapmanite is similar to that of kaolinite with two major differences: (a) the dioctahedral sheet of chapmanite contains Fe3+ instead of Al3+; (b) chapmanite has cations grasped to the octahedral sheet, on the opposite side with respect to the tetrahedral sheet.

Four sol-gel TiO2 powders have been prepared from titanium tetraisopropoxide. The calcined powders are then characterized by X-ray diffraction. Cell parameters are extracted using two Rietveld refinement programs (FULLPROF and MAUD) leading to close values and indicating a contraction of the a (or b) cell parameter and an expansion of the c cell parameter of the anatase phase with temperature. Crystallite size and microstrain are highly dependent not only on the sol synthesis but also on the diffraction line profile analysis (LPA) models (i.e., Williamson-Hall, Thomson-Cox-Hastings, Dehlez et al., and log-normal size distribution) employed. Discrepancies are then observed for the phase transformation critical size, the activation energy of grain growth, and the microstrain stored potential energy according to the LPA approach used to calculate the microstructural parameters.

Elevated-temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to evaluate residual stresses in aluminum thin films on Si(100). The films with a thickness of 2 μm were deposited by magnetron sputtering at different temperatures, and XRD measurements were carried out with the heating stage DHS 900 mounted on a Seifert 3000 PTS diffractometer. The strains were characterized always in temperature cycles from room temperature up to 450 °C with steps of 50 °C. Stress values in weakly textured thin films were calculated using the Hill model, applying temperature-dependent X-ray elastic constants of aluminum. The thin films exhibit specific temperature hysteresis of stresses depending on the deposition temperature (being from the range of 50 °C–300 °C). The results allow us to quantify contributions of intrinsic and extrinsic stresses to the total stress in the layers as well as to evaluate phenomena related to plastic yield. The comparison of the data from thin films deposited at different temperatures indicate a dependence of intrinsic stresses on the substrate temperature during deposition as well as the presence of the plastic yield in films during the cool-down after deposition

The new diffraction patterns of the low- and high-temperature phases of Li0.87Hf2.032(PO4)3 and LiSn2(PO4)3 are given and indexed on the basis of a structure refinement from neutron powder data using Rietveld method. The two isotypic compounds present a reversible phase transition: triclinic (LT, space group P1¯) ⇄ rhombohedral (HT, space group R3¯c) which proceeds by topotactic distortion of the structural skeleton.

This work aims to investigate the hydration behavior and structural properties of two dioctahedral smectites with contrasting location charge (beidellite SbId-1 and montmorillonite SWy-2) according to the nature of the bivalent compensator heavy metal cations (i.e. Hg (II), Ni (II), Ba (II) and Mg (II)). This study is achieved using XRD profile modeling approach based on the simulation of the 00l reflection which allowed us to determine structural characteristics along the c* axis related to the nature, abundance, size, position and organization of exchangeable cation and water molecule in the interlamellar space along the c* axis. The obtained results show that a heterogeneous hydration behavior is systematically observed in all studied samples and the structural models, used to fit samples with tetrahedral charge, are more heterogeneous than smectite with an octahedral sheets substitution. In the case of exchanged beidellite specimen, the proposed models are described by a mixed layer structure with variable abundance containing respectively, dehydrated (0W), mono-hydrated (1W) and bihydrated (2W) layers. Whereas, in the case of the montmorillonite, the absence of 0W hydration state is noted.

A confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method with a vacuum chamber was used for investigation of underfilm corrosion that occurs on a painted steel sheet used for automotive applications. A painted steel sheet was prepared by applying electrodeposition coating onto an electro-galvanized steel sheet with a zinc phosphate conversion coating. The spatial resolution of the confocal micro-XRF was about 10.9 ?m at an energy of 17.4 keV. The phosphorus signal from the zinc phosphate layer was able to be observed nondestructively by measuring under the vacuum condition. Each layer of the painted steel sheet was observed from the depth profile analysis of the characteristic elements of each layer. The painted steel sheet was scratched to expose the substrate surface, and then the sheet was then immersed in a NaCl solution for 10 days. The in-depth elemental map of Ti of the corroded steel sheet revealed blister-type corrosion around the scratch. The in-depth elemental maps of Zn and P suggested that the zinc phosphate layer dissolved from the scratched part into the NaCl solution.

Recent developments at synchrotron X-ray beamlines now allow collection of data suitable for structure determination and Rietveld structure refinement at high pressures and temperatures on challenging materials. These include materials, such as dolomite(CaMg(CO3)2) that tends to calcine at high temperatures, and Fe-containing materials, such as the spinel MgFe2O4, which tend to undergo changes in oxidation state. Careful consideration of encapsulation along with the use of radial collimation produced powder diffraction patterns virtually free of parasitic scattering from the cell in the case of large volume high-pressure experiments. These features have been used to study a number of phase transitions, especially those where superior signal-to-noise discrimination is required to distinguish weak ordering reflections. The structures adopted by dolomite, and CaSO4, anhydrite, were determined from 298 to 1466 K at high pressures. Using laser-heated diamond-anvil cells to achieve simultaneous high pressure and temperature conditions, we have observed CaSO4 undergo phase transitions to the monazite type and at highest pressure and temperature to crystallize in the barite-type structure. On cooling, the barite structure distorts, from an orthorhombic to a monoclinic lattice, to produce the AgMnO4-type structure.