Using High-Resolution Anomalous-Scattering X-Ray Diffraction to Observe Off-Stoichiometric CU2ZnSnS4 Crystal Structures

Author(s):  
Christopher J. Bosson ◽  
Max T. Birch ◽  
Douglas P. Halliday ◽  
Chiu C. Tang ◽  
Peter D. Hatton
2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sytle M. Antao ◽  
Ishmael Hassan

The crystal structures of marialite (Me6) from Badakhshan, Afghanistan and meionite (Me93) from Mt. Vesuvius, Italy were obtained using synchrotron high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HRPXRD) data and Rietveld structure refinements. Their structures were refined in space groups I4/m and P42/n, and similar results were obtained. The Me6 sample has a formula Ca0.24Na3.37K0.24[Al3.16Si8.84O24]Cl0.84(CO3)0.15, and its unit-cell parameters are a=12.047555(7), c=7.563210(6) Å, and V=1097.751(1) Å3. The average ⟨T1-O⟩ distances are 1.599(1) Å in I4/m and 1.600(2) Å in P42/n, indicating that the T1 site contains only Si atoms. In P42/n, the average distances of ⟨T2-O⟩=1.655(2) and ⟨T3-O⟩=1.664(2) Å are distinct and are not equal to each other. However, the mean ⟨T2,3-O⟩=1.659(2) Å in P42/n and is identical to the ⟨T2′-O⟩=1.659(1) Å in I4/m. The ⟨M-O⟩ [7]=2.754(1) Å (M site is coordinated to seven framework O atoms) and M-A=2.914(1) Å; these distances are identical in both space groups. The Me93 sample has a formula of Na0.29Ca3.76[Al5.54Si6.46O24]Cl0.05(SO4)0.02(CO3)0.93, and its unit-cell parameters are a=12.19882(1), c=7.576954(8) Å, and V=1127.535(2) Å3. A similar examination of the Me93 sample also shows that both space groups give similar results; however, the C–O distance is more reasonable in P42/n than in I4/m. Refining the scapolite structure near Me0 or Me100 in I4/m forces the T2 and T3 sites (both with multiplicity 8 in P42/n) to be equivalent and form the T2′ site (with multiplicity 16 in I4/m), but ⟨T2-O⟩ is not equal to ⟨T3-O⟩ in P42/n. Using different space groups for different regions across the series implies phase transitions, which do not occur in the scapolite series.


Author(s):  
M. Brunelli ◽  
A. N. Fitch

AbstractHigh-resolution powder X-ray diffraction measurements have been used to determine the low-temperature crystal structures of the hydrofluorocarbons 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (HFC-134a) and 1,2-difluoroethane (HFC-152a). Below their melting points both compounds form body-centred-cubic orientationally-disordered phases with a = 5.7606(2) Å for HFC-134a and


Author(s):  
R. Gronsky

The phenomenon of clustering in Al-Ag alloys has been extensively studied since the early work of Guinierl, wherein the pre-precipitation state was characterized as an assembly of spherical, ordered, silver-rich G.P. zones. Subsequent x-ray and TEM investigations yielded results in general agreement with this model. However, serious discrepancies were later revealed by the detailed x-ray diffraction - based computer simulations of Gragg and Cohen, i.e., the silver-rich clusters were instead octahedral in shape and fully disordered, atleast below 170°C. The object of the present investigation is to examine directly the structural characteristics of G.P. zones in Al-Ag by high resolution transmission electron microscopy.


Author(s):  
A. Zangvil ◽  
L.J. Gauckler ◽  
G. Schneider ◽  
M. Rühle

The use of high temperature special ceramics which are usually complex materials based on oxides, nitrides, carbides and borides of silicon and aluminum, is critically dependent on their thermomechanical and other physical properties. The investigations of the phase diagrams, crystal structures and microstructural features are essential for better understanding of the macro-properties. Phase diagrams and crystal structures have been studied mainly by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has contributed to this field to a very limited extent; it has been used more extensively in the study of microstructure, phase transformations and lattice defects. Often only TEM can give solutions to numerous problems in the above fields, since the various phases exist in extremely fine grains and subgrain structures; single crystals of appreciable size are often not available. Examples with some of our experimental results from two multicomponent systems are presented here. The standard ion thinning technique was used for the preparation of thin foil samples, which were then investigated with JEOL 200A and Siemens ELMISKOP 102 (for the lattice resolution work) electron microscopes.


Author(s):  
K. H. Downing ◽  
S. G. Wolf ◽  
E. Nogales

Microtubules are involved in a host of critical cell activities, many of which involve transport of organelles through the cell. Different sets of microtubules appear to form during the cell cycle for different functions. Knowledge of the structure of tubulin will be necessary in order to understand the various functional mechanisms of microtubule assemble, disassembly, and interaction with other molecules, but tubulin has so far resisted crystallization for x-ray diffraction studies. Fortuitously, in the presence of zinc ions, tubulin also forms two-dimensional, crystalline sheets that are ideally suited for study by electron microscopy. We have refined procedures for forming the sheets and preparing them for EM, and have been able to obtain high-resolution structural data that sheds light on the formation and stabilization of microtubules, and even the interaction with a therapeutic drug.Tubulin sheets had been extensively studied in negative stain, demonstrating that the same protofilament structure was formed in the sheets and microtubules. For high resolution studies, we have found that the sheets embedded in either glucose or tannin diffract to around 3 Å.


1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (08) ◽  
pp. 271-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen Spraggon ◽  
Stephen Everse ◽  
Russell Doolittle

IntroductionAfter a long period of anticipation,1 the last two years have witnessed the first high-resolution x-ray structures of fragments from fibrinogen and fibrin.2-7 The results confirmed many aspects of fibrinogen structure and function that had previously been inferred from electron microscopy and biochemistry and revealed some unexpected features. Several matters have remained stubbornly unsettled, however, and much more work remains to be done. Here, we review several of the most significant findings that have accompanied the new x-ray structures and discuss some of the problems of the fibrinogen-fibrin conversion that remain unresolved. * Abbreviations: GPR—Gly-Pro-Arg-derivatives; GPRPam—Gly-Pro-Arg-Pro-amide; GHRPam—Gly-His-Arg-Pro-amide


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