STRUCTURAL DIFFRACTION METHODS
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Bibliography
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
It is fundamental to possess a good knowledge of Inorganic Chemistry. Good knowledge of mathematics and matrix algebra is also suggested.
The final (oral) exam will include two distinct portions: a) a brief presentation on a specific theme agreed with the Course Teacher; b) a conventional oral test on the topics illustrated during the Course. The final vote will equally be determined by both tests.
Goal of the course is presenting methodological and structural aspects for the comprehension of ionic and molecular solids, mostly, but not only, of inorganic nature. Symmetry aspects will be introduced by a historical and morphological description, and later upgraded by a mathematical formalism to point and space groups (1D, 2D and 3D) description. The geometrical treatment will facilitate the interpretation of (optical and X-ray) diffraction physics, and the relationship between direct and reciprocal spaces, at the basis of modern crystallographic techniques.
Themes related to single crystal structural determinations will be presented, and neutron and powder diffraction structural techniques introduced. The student will then be prepared for understanding, and critically evaluating, the structural models presented in the literature, for their usage in physical-chemistry or analytical fields, or to foresee the reactivity of solids and molecules.
Part I. Geometrical crystallography, symmetries, cells and Bravais lattices; point and space groups; International Tables; direct and reciprocal spaces; basics of linear algebra, matrices and crystallographic applications.
Part II. Diffraction theory; Bragg and Laue equations, scattering factors and structure factors; the phase problem; single crystal and powder diffraction experimental methods, data analysis techniques, interpretation of a crystallographic paper, Use of data banks.
The two portions will cover approximately half of the total teaching time of the course.
Suggested textbooks:
“The Basics of Crystallography and Diffraction", C.Hammond, Ed. International Union of Crystallography and Oxford University Press, 240 pages.;
"Crystal Structure Analysis: A Primer", J.P.Glusker & K.N.Trueblood, Oxford University Press, 220 pages.
Teaching material publically available
(scienze-como.uninsubria.it/masciocchi/).
Suggestions of specific websites for exercises and further reading.
Classroom lessons (90%); Short experiments in the lab (10%)
The teacher is available to meet the students any day, preferably by appointment. His office is located on the third floor of the building in via Valleggio 9, Como.