What is X-ray crystallography: Definition and 11 Discussions

X-ray crystallography (XRC) is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angles and intensities of these diffracted beams, a crystallographer can produce a three-dimensional picture of the density of electrons within the crystal. From this electron density, the mean positions of the atoms in the crystal can be determined, as well as their chemical bonds, their crystallographic disorder, and various other information.
Since many materials can form crystals—such as salts, metals, minerals, semiconductors, as well as various inorganic, organic, and biological molecules—X-ray crystallography has been fundamental in the development of many scientific fields. In its first decades of use, this method determined the size of atoms, the lengths and types of chemical bonds, and the atomic-scale differences among various materials, especially minerals and alloys. The method also revealed the structure and function of many biological molecules, including vitamins, drugs, proteins and nucleic acids such as DNA. X-ray crystallography is still the primary method for characterizing the atomic structure of new materials and in discerning materials that appear similar by other experiments. X-ray crystal structures can also account for unusual electronic or elastic properties of a material, shed light on chemical interactions and processes, or serve as the basis for designing pharmaceuticals against diseases.
In a single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurement, a crystal is mounted on a goniometer. The goniometer is used to position the crystal at selected orientations. The crystal is illuminated with a finely focused monochromatic beam of X-rays, producing a diffraction pattern of regularly spaced spots known as reflections. The two-dimensional images taken at different orientations are converted into a three-dimensional model of the density of electrons within the crystal using the mathematical method of Fourier transforms, combined with chemical data known for the sample. Poor resolution (fuzziness) or even errors may result if the crystals are too small, or not uniform enough in their internal makeup.
X-ray crystallography is related to several other methods for determining atomic structures. Similar diffraction patterns can be produced by scattering electrons or neutrons, which are likewise interpreted by Fourier transformation. If single crystals of sufficient size cannot be obtained, various other X-ray methods can be applied to obtain less detailed information; such methods include fiber diffraction, powder diffraction and (if the sample is not crystallized) small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS).
If the material under investigation is only available in the form of nanocrystalline powders or suffers from poor crystallinity, the methods of electron crystallography can be applied for determining the atomic structure.
For all above mentioned X-ray diffraction methods, the scattering is elastic; the scattered X-rays have the same wavelength as the incoming X-ray. By contrast, inelastic X-ray scattering methods are useful in studying excitations of the sample such as plasmons, crystal-field and orbital excitations, magnons, and phonons, rather than the distribution of its atoms.

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  1. H

    I Identification of index of Bragg peaks for NaCl

    In my x-ray crystallography data for a single crystal of NaCl using x-rays generated by Cu k alpha (154 pm), there are three peaks identified at angles of 14.155, 31.475 and 53.5 degrees. According to http://www.nada.kth.se/~fabo02/solid/xray.pdf, these peaks must correspond to only even values...
  2. H

    I How to index single crystal Bragg peaks

    I am able to find methods on how to index Bragg peaks for powder diffraction, and was wondering if the method is the same for single cubic crystals of NaCl? I have tried and cannot get the expected sequence of allowed reflections for cubic lattices (h^2 + k^2 + l^2= 3, 4, 8, 11, 12, 16, 19...
  3. T

    I Laue Diffraction Intensity Distribution

    I am trying to experimentally determine the atomic scattering factors for NaCl using Laue photography. For an NaCl crystal, the intensity of the wave scattered at the unit cell is proportional to (4⋅(fCl+fNa))2 if h,k,l are even and to (4⋅(fCl-fNa))2 if h,k,l are odd. fNa and fCl are the atomic...
  4. B

    XRD Sample Prep: Pulverization w/o Affecting Crystallinity?

    I have some precipitate samples that I wish to analyze for XRD. I collected them by filtration of a slurry. Through the filtration, the precipitates "cemented" on the surface of the filter pad so the samples I collected are not exactly in powdered form, which I believe is the ideal form to do...
  5. C_Pu

    I Peak profile fitting in X-ray Crystallography, why Voigt?

    Hi,I've been doing a lab cycle on X-ray crystallography. We are using Cu X-ray source on chloride salt crystals. It seems that the Bragg peak profile are commonly acknowledged to be a Voigt function, which is a convolution of Gaussian and Lorentzian. I am wondering what's the physical reason for...
  6. N

    X-ray crystallography; intensity peaks vary with voltage

    Homework Statement I have done a simple lab experiment to find the lattice constant for NaCl. Using a diffractometer, radioactive counts were measured as a function of crystal orientation angle for electron voltages of 20 and 30 kV. The average lattice constant found wasclose to the accepted...
  7. H

    I Solid State NMR and X-ray Crystallography resources

    Hello, I need to learn how Solid State NMR and X-ray Crystallography work (theory and practical application). I'm primary interested in how those experimental techniques are used to determine molecular structures. I'm an undergrad physics student and I need this to pass my final exam. So if some...
  8. T

    X-ray crystallography - Electron-density map

    Homework Statement Hello, i have the following task in my homework: When doing an X-ray crystallography experiment to determine the structure of biomolecules (protein/DNA), why do consider interpreting an electron-density map (EDM) instead of directly using the diffraction data? 2. The...
  9. Z

    X-ray crystallography, protons or electrons?

    X-ray crystallography is now 100 years old so this question is probably pretty simple. Is the diffraction coming from the nucleons or the electrons in the sample? Ie. The electrons occupy a more diverse location within the sample (depending on what level/shell they occupy, in fact some may be...
  10. M

    Braggs law and x-ray crystallography

    I'm trying to figure out how Braggs law is useful for analysing crystal structures. So here's the equation: nλ = 2dsinθ where λ is the wavelength of incident radiation, d is the distance between each layer of atoms in the crystal and θ is the angle of incidence. So to keep things simple let's...
  11. E

    Modelling missing hydrogens from X-ray crystallography

    I had recently stumbled upon a computer program that can automatically add missing hydrogen atoms to protein structures from files from the protein data bank. (due to the hydrogen atom having only 1 electron, hence making its electron density too low to be detected by X-ray crystallography...
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