Identification of index of Bragg peaks for NaCl

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on identifying the indices of Bragg peaks for NaCl using X-ray crystallography with Cu K-alpha radiation. Three peaks were measured at angles of 14.155, 31.475, and 53.5 degrees, which were found to correspond to the planes (2, 0, 0), (4, 0, 0), and (6, 0, 0). However, the measured angles indicate a misalignment of the diffractometer, with the correct angles being 15.85° (200), 33.11° (400), and 55.02° (600) based on a lattice parameter of 0.5640 nm. The discussion emphasizes the importance of correcting peak positions and suggests using a zero point shift for improved accuracy.

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  • X-ray crystallography fundamentals
  • Understanding of Bragg's Law
  • Familiarity with peak indexing techniques
  • Knowledge of cubic crystal structures
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  • Study the method for correcting misalignment in diffractometers
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Researchers in materials science, crystallographers, and anyone involved in X-ray diffraction analysis of crystalline materials, particularly those studying NaCl or similar ionic compounds.

Hello890
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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 of h, k and l (as there is quite a lot of background noise)
How can I then identify which peak corresponds to which layers?
 
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Why not following the “recipes” given in http://www.nada.kth.se/~fabo02/solid/xray.pdf. As you are using Cu K-alpha X-ray radiation, you can use equation (8) to determine Sqrt(h2 + k2 + l2) for the three measured angles in order to roughly check whether there is something in common. As you are measuring on a NaCl single crystal, the measured peaks must belong to a certain set of planes.
 
Lord Jestocost said:
Why not following the “recipes” given in http://www.nada.kth.se/~fabo02/solid/xray.pdf. As you are using Cu K-alpha X-ray radiation, you can use equation (8) to determine Sqrt(h2 + k2 + l2) for the three measured angles in order to roughly check whether there is something in common. As you are measuring on a NaCl single crystal, the measured peaks must belong to a certain set of planes.
Many thanks for your reply. I have find the values of h, k, l as being closest to (2, 0, 0), (4, 0, 0), (6, 0, 0) as my parallel planes. Could I use to justify that the structure of the crystal is face-centered cubic?
 
Hello890 said:
Could I use to justify that the structure of the crystal is face-centered cubic?

I don’t think so. Appropriate aligned crystals with other crystal structures could give rise to a peak pattern which could be assigned in the same way.
 
Lord Jestocost said:
I don’t think so. Appropriate aligned crystals with other crystal structures could give rise to a peak pattern which could be assigned in the same way.
Can I safely say that the planes identified are indeed the correct ones, even though the plane of the cut of the crystal is unknown? Also, can I use the method in http://pd.chem.ucl.ac.uk/pdnn/diff2/structf.htm to calculate the relative intensities, will the formula work for single crystals as well?
 
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Hello890 said:
Can I safely say that the planes identified are indeed the correct ones, even though the plane of the cut of the crystal is unknown?

As you are measuring on a NaCl single crystal, the planes identified seem to be the correct ones. I am, however, surprised about the measured theta values of 14.155, 31.475 and 53.5 degrees which indicate a severe misalignment of your diffractometer. The correct ones should be 15.85° (200), 33.11° (400) and 55.02° (600) when assuming a lattice parameter of 0.5640 nm.
 
Lord Jestocost said:
As you are measuring on a NaCl single crystal, the planes identified seem to be the correct ones. I am, however, surprised about the measured theta values of 14.155, 31.475 and 53.5 degrees which indicate a severe misalignment of your diffractometer. The correct ones should be 15.85° (200), 33.11° (400) and 55.02° (600) when assuming a lattice parameter of 0.5640 nm.
Yes, unfortunately the equipment we were given was not well aligned and so an offset had to be taken into account. Should I perhaps identify the planes using the ratio of the sin^2(measured angle 1) / sin^2(measured angle 2 - of next peak) = (h1^2 + k1^2 + l1^2)/ n^2(h2^2 + k2^2 + l2^2)? Would this work?
 
Hello890 said:
Would this work?

The best way would be to correct the peak positions to a first approximation by applying a simple zero point shift.
 

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