Rapid, on-line measurement of feedstock mineralogy is a highly attractive technology for the mineral processing industry. A Monte Carlo particle transport-based modelling technique has been developed to help design and predict the measurement performance of on-line energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) analysers. The accuracy of the technique was evaluated by performing quantitative phase analysis on a suite of fifteen synthetic potash ore samples. The diffraction profile of each sample was measured with a laboratory EDXRD analyser and an equivalent profile was simulated in the Monte Carlo package. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the mineral abundances in each sample from both the measured and modelled profiles. Comparison of the results showed that the diffraction profiles and measurement accuracies obtained by simulation agree very well with the measured data.

The crystal structure of imepitoin has been solved and refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data, and optimized using density functional techniques. Imepitoin crystallizes in space group Pbca (#61) with a = 12.35541(2), b = 28.43308(8), c = 7.340917(7) Å, V = 2578.882(7) Å3, and Z = 8. The roughly planar molecules stack along the c-axis. There are no traditional hydrogen bonds in the structure, but several intramolecular and intermolecular C–H⋯O, C–H⋯N, and C–H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds contribute to the crystal energy. The powder pattern has been submitted to ICDD for inclusion in the Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®).

History of the development of the reciprocal lattice is reviewed. The reciprocal lattice as an essential tool for the study of diffraction experiments by ordered structures and characterization of their structural properties is widely taught in any text of solid state or chemistry, but usually without discussion of its history. This article aims to give a coherent historical perspective on the reciprocal lattice. First, a basic introduction to the reciprocal lattice concept, its mathematical foundation and physical origin, and its relationship with the direct lattice is provided. Then a detailed chronicle of ideas leading to the concept of the reciprocal lattice is presented, including a review of the contributions of Gibbs, Ewald, and others. The polar lattice concept, the great ancestor of the reciprocal lattice, is presented.

The capability of whole-powder-pattern decomposition in the quantitative phase analysis (QPA) of natural products was investigated using three- to six-component mixtures and pottery bodies. Here, the term pottery body means plastic clay suitable for making pottery and it is compounded of ceramic raw materials. Average errors of the weight fractions for each phase were within 1 weight percent in each mixture of natural products. The amounts of reduced oxides in pottery bodies derived from the X-ray diffraction technique were in good agreement with results obtained by X-ray fluorescence analysis. The present procedure does not require knowledge of crystal structures; it appears adequate for the QPA of natural products.

The Semi-manual Structure-sensitive SEARCH-MATCH procedure [Frevel, (1982), Anal. Chem. 54, 691–697] has been automated for the Hewlett-Packard HP 3354 Computer. The software is coded in the interpretive HP LAB BASIC II language. A core file of 1026 selected powder diffraction standards has been compiled covering the common crystalline phases encountered in industry, the ubiquitous crystalline minerals, and prototypes of the more frequently found crystal structures. Solid solutions can be readily identified.

A cover for Scintag's six and twelve-position sample changers was designed and constructed to provide an inert atmosphere for samples during diffraction batch runs. The cover is equipped with inlet and outlet gas ports and fits over the top of the sample changer. Using dry nitrogen gas fed into the inlet of the cover, a sample of lithium bromide was protected from atmospheric moisture for greater than 18 h. The cover uses a thin Mylar window that gives greater than 95% transparency for copper K-alpha X-rays. The cover is a simple device that allows our lab to run multiple moisture-sensitive samples in a batch mode. The simple approach and materials used in the construction of the cover could be applied to other brands of powder diffractometers.

Limitations in powder diffractometry imposed by scatter slits and/or a diffracted-beam monochromator, which have been ignored in the past, are discussed and mapped quantitatively. These limitations become manifest especially with ωoffsets, i.e.in stress measurements and with ωoscillation to improve the reproducibility of intensities in the presence of too coarse grains. The limitations can only be established with knowledge of slit sizes and with precise alignment of all slits, their holders and the diffracted-beam monochromator. To that end, concise, accurate procedures for obtaining these measurements in-situare proposed.

X-ray powder diffraction data and refined unit cell parameters for SrTi3Nb4O17, SrTi5Nb4O21, SrTi7Nb4O25, SrTi9Nb4O29, SrTi11Nb4O33, SrTi13Nb4O37, and SrTi15Nb4O41 are reported here. The powder patterns for these oxides suggest that they form a homologous series SrM2n+1O4n+5 (M=Ti, Nb; n=3→9), which is isostructural with the orthorhombic “chemically twinned rutile” series found previously in the K2O-TiO2-Ta2O5 and BaO-TiO2-Nb2O5 systems. The structures are built of corner-sharing slabs of the rutile structure; successive members are generated by adding 2TiO2 to the slab thickness of the previous member. The series crystallizes in space group Cmcm (No. 63), with members exhibiting similar a-, b-dimensions (∼6.6, ∼8.9 Å; respectively), and c-dimensions that linearly increase (by ∼4.4 Å per member) from 20.8 Å for n=3 to 47.1 Å for n=9.

The structure of a new iodate, (LiFe1/3)(IO3)2, has been determined. The new compound has a hexagonal structure with the lattice parameters a=5.4632(2) Å, c=5.0895(6) Å, Z=1. The density is 4.70 g cm−3. Rietveld refinement confirms that the compound has a space group of P63 (173). Fe and Li atoms randomly distribute on the 2a cation site.

The compound Th13Te24O74 was prepared by three independent methods, namely, thermal decomposition of ThTe2O6 in oxygen and argon and direct solid-state reaction of ThO2 and TeO2. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns of the three products, by and large, are similar, except for some differences in intensities and extra diffraction lines. The thermal decomposition of ThTe2O6 was carried out in the streams of oxygen and argon by thermogravimetry at a heating rate of 5 K/min in the temperature range of 725–840 °C. The solid-state reaction of ThO2 and TeO2 (13:24) was carried out in a sealed ampoule at 700 °C. The measured density of this compound is 8.23 g/cm3. An orthorhombic lattice with unit cell parameters, a=11.310±0.005 Å, b=14.064±0.006 Å, c=9.056±0.004 Å, and volume of 1440.419±1.088 (Å)3 was determined for this compound.

Reported results for four new cubic compounds NdMMgMn2O6 (M=Li, Na, K, Cs) are questionable and cast doubt on the existence of such compounds. The lattice constants and relative intensities are essentially the same regardless of the nature of M; the X-ray diffraction patterns may be indexed with the lattice constants divided by √8, which result in much better figures of merit and a=0.3861 to 0.3883 nm, close to the subcell parameter of non-stoichiometric pseudocubic NdMnO3.