A technique to improve the stress measurement from a Debye–Scherrer ring (D–S ring) is reported. In a previous work, the authors reported a technique to calculate stress from the Fourier series of the normal strain of a D–S ring. That technique, similar to the cosα method that came before it, is inaccurate when the grain size of the specimen is relatively large. To cope with this problem, the authors propose using the oscillation of the X-ray incident angle. The present study demonstrates this technique to improve the stress measurement.

Synthetic analogs of naturally occurring nanoparticles have been studied by a range of X-ray techniques to determine their structure and chemistry, and relate these to their novel chemical properties and physical behavior. ZnS nanoparticles, formed in large concentrations naturally bymicrobial action, have an interesting core-shell structure with a highly distorted and strained outer layer. The strain propagates through the particles and produces unusual stiffness but can be relieved by changing the nature of the surface ligand binding. Weaker bound ligands allow high surface distortion, but strongly bound ligands relax this structure and reduce the overall strain. Only small amounts of ligand exchange causes transformations from the strained to the relaxed state. Most remarkably, minor point contacts between strained nanoparticles also relax the strain. Fe oxyhydroxide nanoparticles appear to go through structural transformations dependent on their size and formation conditions, and display a crystallographically oriented form of aggregation at the nanoscale that alters growth kinetics. At least one Fe oxyhydroxide mineral may only be stable on the nanoscale, and nonstoichiometry observed on the hematite surface suggests that for this phase and possibly other natural metal oxides, chemistry may be size dependent. Numerous questions exist on nanominerals formed in acid mine drainage sites and by reactions at interfaces.

2,4,6-Trimercapto-s-triazine, trisodium salt (ideally, Na3S3C3N3·9H2O), also known as TMT-55, is a white powder that is used to precipitate heavy metals from contaminated waters. Chemical analyses confirmed the nominal composition. TMT-55 crystals are uniaxial negative with indices of refraction (25 °C) of nε=1.520 and nω=1.675. The structure was determined by single-crystal methods at 25 and −110 °C. A powder pattern was determined and compared to a simulated pattern based on the 25 °C structure data. Crystal data at 25 °C are: R3;Z=6; a=17.600(1) Å and c=9.720(2) Å; V=2607.5(5) Å3; Dx=1.55 g/cm3.

Using the Rietveld profile method, the atomic coordinates and anisotropic temperature factors of KCaF3 were refined. At room temperature, KCaF3 crystallizes in monoclinic B21/m symmetry, with the lattice parameters: a=8.754(2) Å, b=8.765(4) Å, c=8.760(5) Å, β=90.48(3)°, V=672.1(3) Å3, Z=8. The refinement procedure was stopped when RB=0.05 and the Durbin–Watson statistic factor=0.85 had been reached. The structure determined is related to the tilting of CaF6 octahedra of the a−b+c− type, which are responsible for the monoclinic distortion in perovskite crystals.

A new Peltier-cooled solid-state Si(Li) detector has been compared to a traditional scintillation detector/diffracted-beam graphite monochromator system in conventional X-ray powder diffraction applications. Parameters studied included absolute count rates, detector linearity, peak-to-background ratios, detection limits, fluorescent radiation elimination, and peak profile shapes. Comparisons were performed on a Siemens D-500 θ-2θ diffractometer using constant sample and nondetector instrumental parameters. Advantages of the Si(Li) detector include a significantly increased count rate (3.4 - 3.8 times), primarily due to the elimination of the graphite monochromator, slightly lower background count rates, and the ability to change the analysis energy quickly. The higher count rate and slightly lower background count rate of the Si(Li) detector allow collection of data more rapidly than possible with a scintillation detector/diffracted-beam monochromator system and yield improved peak-to-background ratios and detection limits. Significant disadvantages of the Si(Li) detector include pronounced deviation from linearity at low count rates, making accurate measurement of even moderate countrate peaks difficult, and detector shutdown due to 100% deadtime between 4 and 5 × 10 4 counts/s (cps). The Si(Li) detector and the scintillation detector/diffracted-beam monochromator system are comparable in terms of fluorescence radiation elimination, resolution, and peak shape, although it appears tfiat die diffracted-beam monochromator measurably reduces the low-angle portion of the half width of all reflections.

The crystal structure of Al7O3N5 was characterized by laboratory X-ray powder diffraction (CuKα1). The title compound is trigonal with a space group R3m (centrosymmetric). The hexagonal unit-cell dimensions (Z = 3) are a = 0.305 06(1) nm, c = 5.7216(1) nm, and V = 0.461 11(2) nm3. The initial structural model was derived by the charge-flipping method and refined by the Rietveld method. The final structural model showed the positional disordering of two of the four Al sites. The maximum-entropy method-based pattern fitting method was used to confirm the validity of the split-atom model, in which conventional structure bias caused by assuming intensity partitioning was minimized. The disordered crystal structure was successfully described by overlapping five types of domains with ordered atom arrangements. The distribution of atomic positions in one of the five types of domains can be achieved in the space group R3m. The atom arrangements in the four other domains are non-centrosymmetric with the space group R3m. Two of the four types of domains are related by a pseudo-symmetrical inversion, and the two remaining domains also have each other in the inversion pseudo-symmetry.

Nanocrystalline anatase powders synthesised by various chemical processes as super/subcritical fluid extraction, sol-gel technique and hydrolysis of titanium alkoxides in hydrogen peroxide were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) whole profile modelling method (WPPM) in order to reveal correlations between structural and micro-structural parameters as well as sample treatment conditions. Anisotropy of the diffraction line broadening due to truncated bipyramidal shape of anatase crystals was discussed. The hkl-anisotropy can be very strong but also almost negligible in dependence on relative ratio of the crystallite dimensions. The latter was the case for the studied samples. The size of synthesised anatase nanoparticles was within the range 3–25 nm. The theoretical total surface area of crystallites calculated from XRD was in a good correlation with the surface area measured by the nitrogen physisorption up to the temperature 400–450 °C, when the particles started to agglomerate. At atomic scale a unit cell volume contraction with decreasing crystallite size and a significant deficiency in the Ti-site occupancy was observed. Both effects were attributed to the presence of Ti-vacancies and a linear coefficient between the relative cell volume contraction and the fraction of Ti-vacancies was estimated to (–0.017 ± 0.003).

A first attempt to differentiate goethite- and hematite-based natural materials, used for several purposes during the Late Palaeolithic in the Lessini Mountains (Italy), is here proposed. All raw materials were collected from known geological sites within a distance of about 20 km from archaeological excavations (Tagliente and Fumane caves) where ochre fragments were found. X-ray powder diffraction allowed the mineralogical composition of samples collected from carbonate and volcanic geological host and parent rocks to be inferred; in addition, a preliminary distinction based on the different mineral assemblages, on the presence of distinctive mineral phases and on the degree of crystallinity of some compounds such as hematite, became possible. The acquired data thus represent a sort of preliminary inventory for provenance studies on archaeological samples originating in the same region, for which ancillary micro-analytical and geochemical techniques are planned.

The evolution of the 003 reflection of the layered Li(Ni,Co,Mn)O2 (CGR) and Li(Ni,Co,Al)O2 (NCR) cathodes in commercial 18650 lithium-ion batteries during charge/discharge were determined using in situ neutron powder diffraction. The 003 reflection is chosen as it is the stacking axis of the layered structure and shows the largest change during charge/discharge. The comparison between these two cathodes shows that the NCR cathode exhibits an unusual contraction near the charged state and during the potentiostatic step, where the potentiostatic step is recommended by the manufacturer. This feature is not shown to the same degree by the CGR cathode. The behavior is likely related to the compositions of these cathodes, the amount of Li/Ni site mixing and the presence of Al or Mn.

Rietveld refinement using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction data of the ranciéite, Ca0.19K0.01(Mn4+0.91◻0.09)O2⋅0.63H2O, crystal structure reveals significant differences from that reported previously. The interlayer H2O molecules occupy sites halfway between the Mn,O octahedral sheets. The Mn sites in the octahedral sheets have 10% vacancies, and the mean Mn–O distance indicates that all Mn is tetravalent (Mn4+). The interlayer Ca cations are located above and below the Mn vacancies and are octahedrally coordinated to three O2 atoms in the octahedral sheet and three H2O molecules in the interlayer.

We have examined the barium ferrite powder X-ray diffraction patterns in the PDF using experimental and calculated diffractograms. An improved calculated diffractogram is proposed. The result indicates that the primary peak of barium ferrite is not (107) but is (114).

A significant feature of the atomic structure of the intermetallic compounds RhAl2.63 (Pearson-Parthé symbol cP(34-5) [notation according to Parthé et al. (1993)], space group P23), IrAl2.75 (cP(34-4), P23) and AuZn3 (cP32, Pm3¯n) is the occurrence of icosahedral clusters. Least squares refined lattice parameters and powder diffraction data are reported for these homeotypic phases.

Changes of structural properties of tobermorite in autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) for various compositions were characterized and the disadvantages of SEM analysis in this context are discussed. The influence of variations in the chemical composition of raw materials on lattice parameters, morphology and domain sizes of tobermorite was investigated by XRD and for comparison by SEM analysis. Particularly the effect of substitution by Al3+ and (SO4)2− in tobermorite structure was examined. The dimensions of coherently scattering domains were calculated based on the refinement of anisotropic peak broadening of tobermorite in XRD diffractograms using a Rietveld compatible approach. No effect of (SO4)2− on the domain sizes and lattice parameters of tobermorite could be observed. The amount of anhydrite detected by quantitative XRD analysis indicates that all of the available (SO4)2− is present as anhydrite. Lath-like shapes of domains and a larger c parameter are calculated whenever Al3+ is incorporated in a considerable amount. Formation of katoite can be observed very clearly in SEM micrographs whenever the amount of available Al3+ exceeds a distinct value in the dry mix. The effect of Al3+ and (SO4)2− on tobermorite morphology could not be observed clearly by SEM analysis in AAC samples.

A mathematical model for interpreting the anisotropical broadening of the powder diffraction lines by an average crystallite in the form of a triaxial ellipsoid is developed. The model covers satisfactorily a broad range of averaged crystallite shapes in polycrystalline samples of all crystal symmetries and provides simple formulas for use in powder pattern fitting routines. When ra, rb, rc are the principal ellipsoid radii, and ca, cb, cc direction cosines of diffraction vector related to the principal axes of ellipsoid, the average dimension of crystallites along the diffraction vector (Dhkl) is: Dhkl=K/ca2/ra2+cb2/rb2+cc2/rc2. The coefficient K has the value 3/2 if Dhkl is the volume average dimension of crystallites along the diffraction vector, or 4/3 in the case of the surface average dimension. The appropriate expression for use in whole pattern fitting routines is: b11h2+b22k2+b33l2+2b12hk+2b13hl+2b23kl=K2/Lhkl2dhkl2, where bij are the elements of a second-rank symmetric tensor. Finding eigenvalues and vectors of tensor b gives dimensions and orientations of the principal ellipsoid radii in reciprocal lattice values.

X-ray powder data and crystal data for acetaminophen, C8H9NO2, are reported and results are compared to existing PDF patterns.

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).

Linezolid (LZD) is one of the first commercially available synthetic oxazolidinone antibiotics and is widely used for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacterial infection. LZD was found to have five polymorphic forms. The most stable and commercialized polymorphs are known as forms II and IV. Trace content of form II in LZD form IV will cause to transition LZD form IV to II rapidly. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) methods were evaluated for the determination of the polymorphic content of the drug substance and drug product. The estimated limit of detection values of the single peak method for LZD polymorph form II in drug substance and tablet formulation were 0.4 and 0.6%, respectively, while the limit of detection value of Rietveld Refinement (full-profile fitting) evaluated LZD polymorph form II in drug substance was 0.2%. The results clearly show that levels <1 wt.% (in active pharmaceutical ingredients) and 2 wt.% (in tablets) LZD form II in form IV can be detected and quantified by PXRD. Validation of the analytical method proved that the method is repeatable, sensitive, and accurate.

Total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF) using monochromatized undulator radiation in the PTB radiometry laboratory at the synchrotron radiation facility BESSY II has been employed to investigate the chemical state of nitrogen compounds in aerosols. The aerosol samples of different size fractions were deposited on silicon wafer surfaces in a May impactor. Using a thin window Si(Li) detector, TXRF detection limits for nitrogen are in the upper fg and lower pg range. Taking advantage of the tunability of monochromatized undulator radiation, the near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) could be combined with TXRF analysis, allowing for the speciation of the aerosols at the nitrogen K absorption edge. Such low detection limits enable an analysis of aerosol samples taken in 10 min with acceptable accuracy. Applicability of the technique to real aerosol samples has been used to compare nitrogen oxidation state in suburban and rural aerosols

Calculations of crystal size distributions in oriented clays (montmorillonite and kaolinite) are carried out utilizing X-ray diffraction data together with a method based on information theory. Two different procedures for dealing with the available data are compared. One of them involves some points of the corresponding spectrum, the other correlates the data by means of their moments.

This paper presents the first Table of RIR values for quantitative analysis as a model for regular updates which will appear in future issues. Diffractionists interested in the reference intensity method of quantitative analysis are urged to read the criteria for preparing data to continue this Table and then to submit new data.