An analysis of the microstructure of nanocrystalline magnesium oxide produced by thermal decomposition of magnesium oxalate, in the temperature range 500 °C–1200 °C, is described. The study is based on diffraction line broadening analysis carried out with the integral breadth (Langford) and Fourier methods, combined with the pattern decomposition technique. Additionally, the whole pattern matching method is also applied. No marked line broadening anisotropy is observed in the patterns. It is shown that the nanopowders are characterized by minimal strain and that crystallites have an average spherical shape. Volume-weighted and area-weighted apparent sizes are in the ranges 98–480 Å and 72–282 Å, respectively, within the temperature range considered. The results obtained from line broadening analysis are compared to those observed with scanning electron microscopy and surface area measurements. A satisfactory agreement is found between sizes derived from the different techniques.

A general expression is proposed for the peak profile produced by a system of simple-shape crystalline domains (sphere, cube, tetrahedron, octahedron) whose size is dispersed according to a gamma distribution. The analytical expression obtained is particularly suited to “on the fly” pattern simulation or profile fitting for nanocrystalline materials. An advantage of using the proposed profile expression is that it always corresponds to a physically meaningful, though a priori fixed, size distribution, whereas the traditionally employed Voigtian profiles can produce unphysical negative size distributions for certain combinations of profile parameters. The peak profile depends on the distribution mean and variance instead of the more common empirical parameters of peak width and shape.

Characterization of materials used in the digital imaging industry has been performed using micro X-ray diffraction (microXRD) techniques. Case studies are described that demonstrate the use of microXRD for identification of phases, texture, and microstructure morphology of components used in imaging applications.

Quantification of mixtures via the Rietveld method is generally restricted to crystalline phases for which structures are well known. Phases that have not been identified or fully characterized may be easily quantified as a group, along with any amorphous material in the sample, by the addition of an internal standard to the mixture. However, quantification of individual phases that have only partial or unknown structures is carried out less routinely. This paper presents methodology for quantification of such phases. It outlines the procedure for calibration of the method and gives detailed examples from both synthetic and mineralogical systems. While the method should, in principle, be generally applicable, its implementation in the TOPAS program from Bruker AXS is demonstrated here.

A revised structure model of ettringite is presented, in order to provide quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD) of this mineral in cement pastes. The model is derived from two different existing structure models, both of which are suitable for restricted use but are inferior to the refined ettringite structure presented. In the first published ettringite structure proposed by Moore and Taylor [Acta Crystallogr. B 26, 386–393 (1970)], none of the 128 positions for H are given in the unit cell, which results in reduced scattering power for use of this model for quantification purposes. For the precise quantification of ettringite in samples together with anhydrous phases, the scattering factors of all atoms including the H positions are indispensable. The revised structure model is based on the data of Moore and Taylor, supplemented by the H positions determined by Berliner (Material Science of Concrete Special Volume, The Sydney Diamond Symposium, American Ceramic, Society, 1998, pp. 127–141) on the basis of a neutron diffraction structural investigation of deuterated ettringite at 20 K. Berliner’s (Material Science of Concrete Special Volume, The Sydney Diamond Symposium, American Ceramic Society, 1998, pp. 127–141) thermal parameter should not, however, be used, since a normal application is at room temperature. In order further to improve the structure model of ettringite, Rietveld refinement with the rigid body approach for OH and H2O molecules and SO4 tetrahedra was employed. The refined and improved ettringite structure model was tested for quantitative phase analysis by the determination of actual ettringite contents in mixtures with an internal standard. Synthesized and orientation-free prepared ettringite powders were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction analysis and quantified in four different blends with zircon. The quantification results with the new structure model demonstrate the superior quality of the revised ettringite structure.

This paper reports the results of crystallography and crystal chemistry investigation of the (Ba1−xSrx)Y2CuO5 (“green phase”) solid solution series by X-ray powder diffraction (XPD) and neutron powder diffraction techniques. The single phase regions for (Ba1−xSrx)Y2CuO5 were determined to be 0⩽x⩽0.3 for samples prepared at 810 °C in 100 Pa pO2, and 0⩽x⩽0.7 for samples prepared at 930 °C in air. All single phase (Ba1−xSrx)Y2CuO5 samples are isostructural to BaY2CuO5 and can be indexed using an orthorhombic cell with the space group Pnma. Lattice parameters, a,b,c and the cell volume, V, of the (Ba1−xSrx)Y2CuO5 members decrease linearly with increasing Sr substitution (x) on the Ba site. The general structure of (Ba1−xSrx)Y2CuO5 can be considered as having a three-dimensional interconnected network of [YO7],[(Ba,Sr)O11], and [CuO5] polyhedra. The copper ions are located inside distorted [CuO5] “square” pyramids. These pyramids are connected by the [Y2O11] groups that are formed from two monocapped [YO7] trigonal prisms sharing a triangular face. The Ba2+ ions are found to reside in distorted 11-fold coordinated cages. The oxygen sites are essentially fully occupied. XPD reference patterns of two members of the series, (Ba0.3Sr0.7)Y2CuO5 and (Ba0.7Sr0.3)Y2CuO5, were prepared for inclusion in the powder diffraction file.

A new Nasicon phosphates series [Na3+xCr2−xCox(PO4)3(0⩽x⩽1)] was synthesized by a coprecipitation method and structurally characterized by powder X-ray diffraction. The selected compound Na3.5Cr1.5Co0.5(PO4)3 (x=0.5) crystallizes in the R3c space group with the following hexagonal unit-cell dimensions: ah=8.7285(3) Å, ch=21.580(2) Å, V=1423.8(1) Å3, and Z=6. This three-dimensional framework is built of PO4 tetrahedra and Cr∕CoO6 octahedra sharing corners. Na atoms occupy totally M(1) sites and partially M(2) sites.

The technique of standard addition in combination with powder X-ray diffraction was used to identify and quantify the amount of Ln3+ segregating into secondary phases from Ln3+doped alkaline earth aluminates. Results indicate that Ln3+ ions are more soluble in CaAl2O4 than SrAl2O4 and BaAl2O4, with this being rationalized by the structural details of the A sites. These results indicate that the enhancement of the luminescence afterglow obtained by doping AAl2O4:Eu2+ samples with Ln3+ ions is a result of much lower doping levels than previously thought.

Rietveld refinement using neutron, laboratory X-ray, and synchrotron powder diffraction data of NIST SRM clinker 8488 was performed. Quantitative phase analysis (QPA) results were compared between data, and with other studies. QPA results for the main phases in the clinker were found to be in agreement between the different data used here, and in and other studies, although the QPA of the tricalcium silicate polymorphs was shown to be inconsistent. The QPA results for the tricalcium aluminate phase varied between data types, and the neutron data were unable to distinguish this phase.

A state-of-art semiconductor technology-based position sensitive area detector, namely D/teX-25, has recently been developed for high-speed and high-sensitivity X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of materials. X-ray powder diffraction intensities obtained by a D/teX-25 detector were found to over 50 times higher than those by a conventional scintillation counter. A D/teX-25 detector mounted on a conventional 2 kW XRD system has been used to collect ultrafast XRD data with scanning speeds up to 160°2θ per minute. Ultrahigh-speed XRD is particularly useful for time-resolved dynamical and in-situ studies. A D/teX-25 detector was successfully used on a Rigaku XRD differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) system for simultaneous measurements of XRD and DSC data under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. This has made possible the study of complex and rapid phase transformations of pharmaceutical terfenadine. The D/teX-25 area detector has also been used for recording two-dimensional XRD patterns showing the particle-size effects on α-quartz powder intensities and to obtain digital X-ray topographic images of a complex dislocation network in a Si wafer.

Structures of two K2SnX(PO4)3(X=Fe,Yb) phosphates, obtained by conventional solid state reaction techniques at 950 °C, were determined at room temperature by X-ray powder diffraction using Rietveld analysis. The two materials exhibit the langbeinite-type structure (P213 space group, Z=4). Cubic unit cell parameter values are: a=9.9217(4) Å and a=10.1583(4) Å for K2SnFe(PO4)3 and K2SnYb(PO4)3, respectively. Structural refinements show that the two crystallographically independent octahedral sites (of symmetry 3) have a mixed Sn∕X (X=Fe,Yb) population although ordering is stronger in the Yb phase than in the Fe phase.

The lattice parameters of α-alumina have been determined for temperatures in the range 20<T<1050 °C, using the lattice parameter of tungsten as a thermometer and a simple furnace in the diffractometer on the Australian beamline at the Photon Factory, Tsukuba, Japan. It is shown that the accuracy of this technique for measurement of cell parameters at temperatures up to ∼1200 °C is limited at present by uncertainty in the cell parameters of the reference material (i.e., tungsten) at high temperatures. Some problems with the equipment are discussed.

The Interactive Data Language has been used to produce a software program capable of advanced three-dimensional visualizations of pole figure and θ-2θ data. The data can also be used to calculate quantitative properties such as strain level and to minimize the peak-height texture effects in individual θ-2θ scans. The collection of the large data sets necessary for the analyses is facilitated by use of a position sensitive detector or area detector.

The structural models of three synthetic Al-substituted goethite specimens have been refined from the neutron data, including crystallographic determinations of the Al levels and H positions. The d-I data were calculated for the final models. A relationship between the c unit cell parameter and Al content has been extended to the entire goethite-diaspore solid-solution system, which makes the regression equation procedure simpler and more accurate. A second prospective H site could not be confirmed because of the quality of existing neutron data. However, it is hoped that a further neutron powder diffraction study of a synthetic, fully deuterated goethite material may allow the existence of the site to be demonstrated.