Reference X-ray diffraction patterns for the quarternary intermetallic superconductor phases of compositions LuNi2B2C and YNi2B2C are reported. Both materials were synthesized by the arc-melting technique. The patterns of these metallic phases exhibit preferred orientation in an ordinarily pressed sample, which was minimized through special specimen preparation. The observed intensities and the calculated values for both phases agree reasonably well with each other. Both compounds were refined in the space group I4/mmm, with a=3.4647(1) Å and c=10.6330(4) Å for LuNi2B2C and a=3.5271(1) Å, c=10.5361(7) Å for YNi2B2C.

Characterization of some crystalline species present in atmospheric particulate matter can be investigated by an X-ray diffractometric technique. According to the analytical strategy, filtering media suitable for collecting airborne particles must be selected. In order to recognize the X-ray diffraction patterns and consequently the inherent analytical interference of filtering media, a systematic X-ray diffraction evaluation of several substrates was performed. Although artifact formation during ambient sampling can occur on quartz and glass fiber filters, these filters were also included in the diffractometric characterization. In this work, commercial filters were thermally treated and submitted to X-ray diffraction scanning. Results have shown pronounced variations in the diffractometric profiles of each thermally treated substrate. The selection criteria for choosing the filtering media was established by considering their chemical and physical properties and also the crystalline species to be collected on them.

A system enabling X-ray diffraction patterns under controlled conditions of relative humidity and temperature has been devised and combined with an X-ray powder diffractometer. Relative humidity in the sample space is controlled by mixing dry N2 gas with saturated water vapor. Temperatures of the sample and inner wall of the sample chamber are monitored by two attached thermocouples and the information was fed back to the control unit. Relative humidity between 0% and the 95%, and temperature between room temperature and 60 °C can be controlled. All parameters including those for XRD are programmable and the system runs automatically. The function of the system was checked by recording the XRD patterns of montmorillonite (a clay mineral) and NaCl under increasing and decreasing relative humidity.

The crystal structure of [Pd(NH3)4]C2O4 was determined from X-ray powder data. The crystals are triclinic with unit-cell parameters: a=7.0807(7) Å, b=7.0806(7) Å, c=3.8011(5) Å, α=91.910(1)°, β=98.665(1)°, γ=97.283(1)°, S.G.=P−1, Z=1, V=187.11 Å3. All non-hydrogen atoms were located from the Patterson map. The structure was refined by the Rietveld technique: Rp−b=6.88, Rwp=6.51, RB=2.66. The crystal structure of [Pd(NH3)4]C2O4 is built from two types of elements: [Pd(NH3)4]2+ and C2O2−4. Cations [Pd(NH3)4]2+ form columns along c with distances (Pd–Pd)=3.8011 Å. C2O2−4 anions occupy places in the middle of the unit cell between layers of [Pd(NH3)4]2+. The compound is stable up to 200 °C and then decomposes, giving Pd powder.

Algorithms are presented to correct intensities affected by divergence slit attenuation in the low 2θ region of Bragg–Brentano powder diffractometers with rectangular sample holders. The intensity loss below a limiting angle 2θ1 occurs when the X-ray beam cross section exceeds the sample surface at decreasing angles. For identification purposes, the observed intensities can be scaled up to values comparable with intensities unaffected by divergence slit effects.

An improved backloading method to determine the reference intensity ratios of sedimentary minerals is presented. More than 50 reference intensity ratios of more than ten types of minerals formed in typical sedimentary environments were measured. Quantitative tests were performed on those minerals. Comparison of the results show that this method minimizes preferred orientation and improves quantitative precision (absolute deviation is less than 3%) so that it is an acceptable specimen loading method.

A conventional vertical powder diffractometer has been adapted to allow the collection of high-resolution, single-wavelength diffraction data using Co, Cu or Mo radiation. The major modifications are (i) incorporation of an incident beam focusing monochromator attached to the tube shield, (ii) a variable tilt angle of the tube shield to provide a horizontal beam path through the diffractometer (for ease of alignment), (iii) mounting of the entire diffractometer on a single, very stable base-plate, with micrometer-controlled adjustment of the orientation, (iv) inclusion of a knife-edge, micrometer-controlled focusing slit, and (v) use of a range of Soller slits with acceptance angles down to 1.5° 2φ. The performance of the instrument compares favourably with conventional non-monochromated diffractometer data collected from SRM660 LaB6 and monoclinic ZrO2. In particular, the peaks are more symmetric and have narrower widths, and the peak-to-background ratio is much higher, leading to much superior resolution and profile shapes for structure solution and Rietveld refinement.

Single crystals of rhombohedral bismuth tri-iodide grown by physical vapor transport are possible candidates for room-temperature detectors. Previously reported, low angle reflections in X-ray diffraction patterns of various BiI3 starting powders are attributed to the BiI3 structure from Rietveld analysis. Accordingly, the lattice parameters of stoichiometric BiI3 are determined as a0=7.5192±0.0003 Å and c0=20.721±0.004 Å at room temperature. It also appears that lattice parameter determination using Rietveld refinement can lead to significant errors if experimental aberrations are present and their nature and magnitude are unknown. A modified internal standard technique is applied to the data set prior to Rietveld refinement for more reliable lattice parameter determination.

Powder X-ray diffraction data are reported for La0.6Sr0.4Co1−yFeyO3 (y=0.1, 0.25, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0). The powders were prepared by thermal decomposition of metal-containing complex solutions. All compositions have rhombohedral unit cells. In hexagonal setting, the cell parameters are a=5.4388 Å, c=13.2355 Å for y=0.1; a=5.4427 Å, c=13.2542 Å for y=0.25; a=5.4530 Å, c=13.2838 Å for y=0.4; a=5.4769 Å, c=13.3175 Å for y=0.6; a=5.5057 Å, c=13.3918 Å for y=0.8; and a=5.5278 Å, c=13.4368 Å for y=1.0. The space group is probably R3c (167) for all compositions. The observed trends in the change of the pseudocubic cell parameter ac with increasing iron content can be explained in terms of substitution of Co4+ by Fe4+ when y<0.4, and substitution of Co3+ by Fe3+ when y≳0.4.

The modal analysis of samples belonging to the zeolite-rich pyroclastic formation named “Neapolitan yellow tuff” (Central and Southern Italy) has been determined by full-profile refinement of X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) data using a combined Rietveld–RIR method. The quantitative analysis and especially the zeolite content is a profitable source for geo-petrographic and genetic considerations and as well an essential source to assess the physical and chemical properties of the bulk material for a feasible use in industrial applications. Albeit a wealth of methods are used for the quantitative determination of zeolite content in pyroclastites they all fail for lack of accuracy as far as concerns the absolute standard deviation of the quantitative data. The outstanding outcomes achievable by using the Rietveld method make it as the most promising technique to fulfill this lack. The glass content in each sample is calculated by a combined Rietveld–RIR method in which a known amount of an internal standard is added to the mixture to rescale the Rietveld refined weight fractions into absolute values. Then, it is reasonable to designate this method as an external method according to the definition given by Hill and Howard (1987). Its counterpart is the internal method developed by Riello etal. (1995a,b). Other techniques such as the addition method and the background scattering volume calculation are developed to accomplish a further determination of the glass content. The results are compared to the values obtained from the Rietveld–RIR analysis. These experimental methods yield an over-estimation of the amorphous phase because the incoherent scattering contribution (air, absorption, sample holder, Compton scattering) is accounted for as the amorphous fraction itself. The glass content of each sample acquired from the Rietveld–RIR refinement on the “raw data” is compared to that accomplished from the refinement of incoherent scattering subtracted data. In addition, some largely used XRPD quantitative techniques such as the external standard and RIR (reference intensity ratio) and the influence of the sample loading method are accounted for in an internally consistent comparison among different procedures of analysis.

The X-ray powder diffraction pattern for the title compound is reported in the range 10<2θ<60°. The sample was purified by recrystallization and was indexed using the program DICVOL91 and TREOR90. Refined unit parameters for the orthorhombic system (Pnma or Pn21a) are: a=13.7098(8) Å, b=10.7153(7) Å, c=6.9473(4) Å, V=1020.59 Å3, Z=4, Dx=2.50 g cm−3. M20=49, F30=93(0.0075, 43).

A precise X-ray powder diffraction pattern of the orthorhombic form of InVO4, InVO4-III, was obtained using a Huber camera with CuKα1 radiation (λ=1.5406 Å) and Si as internal standard (a= 5.4308 Å). Refinements of indexed reflections led to the following parameters: a=5.7531(3)Å, b=8.5201(4)Å, c=6.5781(3)Å, space group Cmcm, Z =4, Dx=4.733 g/cm3, Dm=4.65 g/cm3. The Smith–Snyder figure-of-merit is F30=201.4 (0.004, 34).

Indexed X-ray diffraction data are reported for 1-adamantanol. The data were indexed on a tetragonal unit cell with a=15.869 Å and c=6.879 Å, P44/nZ=8.

The X-ray diffraction data for the single phase UAl4 are reported. The data were obtained with a Huber–Guinier diffractometer with MoKα1 radiation. The unit cell of UAl4 is orthorhombic (space group Imma) with lattice parameters a=4.396 Å, b=6.251 Å, and c=13.699 Å.

The X-ray powder diffraction patterns for tetramethylammonium bromide and iodide have been measured from near room temperature up to decomposition/sublimation. The unit cell parameters were refined and the coefficients of thermal expansion calculated. Unlike N(CH3)4Cl [M. Stammler, J. Inorg. Nucl. Chem. 29, 2203–2221 (1967)], N(CH3)4Br (1Br) and N(CH3)4I (1I) undergo no solid–solid transitions before decomposition/sublimation as was observed earlier by thermal analysis [S. S. Chang and E. F. Westrum, J. Chem. Phys. 36(9), 2420–2423 (1962); Coulter etal., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 62, 2845–2851 (1940); Xenopoulos etal., Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 214, 63–79 (1992)].

The effects of sample transparency in a powder diffraction experiment are discussed, and formulas including effects from horizontal divergence are derived. It is shown that the classical formula by Alexander [L. E. Alexander J. Appl. Phys. 21, 126 (1950)] is only a limiting case for zero horizontal divergence. It is also shown that in some cases extinction effects can play a role. The impact of these effects on both the line profile as well as the integrated intensity and experiments illustrating these phenomena, are discussed.

p-nitrophenol, C6H5NO3, and disophenol, C6H3I2NO3, have been investigated by means of X-ray powder diffraction. The unit cell dimensions were determined from diffractometer methods, using monochromatic CuKα1 radiation, and evaluated by indexing programs. The monoclinic cell found for p-nitrophenol was a=6.159(2) Å, b=8.890(2) Å, c=11.770(2) Å, β=103.04(2)°, Z=4, space group P21 or P2l/m, Dx=1.469 Mg/m3. The monoclinic cell found for disophenol has the dimensions a=8.886(1) Å, b=14.088(2) Å, c=8.521(1) Å, β=91.11(1)°, Z=4, space group P2, P2, Pm or P2/m, Dx=2.438 Mg/m3.

A new compound—Ba3MnSi2O8 in the system BaO–MnO–SiO2 was synthesized and studied by powder X-ray diffraction. The compound is hexagonal, space group—P6/mmm, a=5.67077 Å, c=7.30529 Å, Z=1, Dx=5.353. The obtained powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD) data were interpreted by the Powder Data Interpretation Package.

In the preparation of ceramic SrCe0.95Yb0.05O3−α great care was taken to obtain a homogeneous, carbonate free and dense material of exactly the given composition. The material is an important high-temperature protonic conductor (HTPC). X-ray powder diffraction data are reported. The cell parameters obtained are a=6.007(2) Å, b=12.296(3) Å, c=8.588(2) Å, cell volume 634.4(1) Å3, Z=8. The space group is most probably Pnma (62) and Dx=5.806(2) g/cm3. The bending strength of the sintered dense material is 175±6 MPa.

The determination of thin film thickness by four X-ray reflectivity methods (namely, the peak separation, the Fourier transform, the modified Bragg equation, and the curve-fitting methods) has been studied. An analysis of SrS and BaF2 thin films showed thickness values determined by the methods agreed to within 4%. The curve-fitting method had the highest accuracy but was time-consuming. The peak separation, the Fourier transform, and the modified Bragg equation methods are considerably faster and, on average, gave 2.8%, 0.9%, and 0.2% larger thicknesses than those of the curve-fitting method.