Scribd
Upload
23 views2 pages

X Ray Diffraction Pattern for Cubic Crystal System

The document outlines the selection rules for allowed reflections in cubic crystal systems including simple cubic, body-centered cubic (BCC), face-centered cubic (FCC), and diamond cubic. It explains the relationship between Miller indices and diffraction patterns, highlighting how missing reflections can identify crystal types. Additionally, it discusses the interplanar distance and the effect of X-ray wavelength on diffraction patterns.

Uploaded by

Mohsin Ehsan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
23 views2 pages

X Ray Diffraction Pattern for Cubic Crystal System

The document outlines the selection rules for allowed reflections in cubic crystal systems including simple cubic, body-centered cubic (BCC), face-centered cubic (FCC), and diamond cubic. It explains the relationship between Miller indices and diffraction patterns, highlighting how missing reflections can identify crystal types. Additionally, it discusses the interplanar distance and the effect of X-ray wavelength on diffraction patterns.

Uploaded by

Mohsin Ehsan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

X-ray diffraction pattern for cubic system

Selection rule

Bravais lattice Allowed reflection

Simple cubic From all planes

Body centered cubic Planes in which (h+k+l) is even

Planes in which h,k and l are all either odd or


Face centered cubic
all are even

Planes in which h, k, l are all odd or all even


Diamond cubic
and (h+k+l) is divisible by 4

If a crystal contains more than one kind of atoms, the atom containing the greater number of electrons
scatters the x-rays to a greater extent. It is found that the scattering power of an atom is directly
proportional to the number of electrons in the atom.. The position of hydrogen atom in the unit cell cannot
be determined from x-ray diffraction pattern. Their positions can be determined from neutron diffraction.

Indexing the pattern involves assigning the correct Miller’s indices to each peak in the diffraction
pattern. These peaks are also referred to as reflections. Correct indexing is done when all the peaks in the
diffraction pattern are accounted for and no peaks expected for the structure are missing from the
diffraction pattern.

The interplanar distance in cubic systems is given by,

Combining this with Bragg’s equation we get,

λ = 2a sinθ/ (h2 +k2 +l2)1/2

sin2θ = (λ2 /4a2) (h2 +k2 +l2)

= K (h2 +k2 +l2)

K =(λ2 /4a2) and is constant for a given cubic crystal. Thus sin 2θ is proportional to (h2 +k2 +l2), that is as θ
increases planes with higher Miller’s indices will reflect.

In the simple cubic system the first reflection in the diffraction pattern is due to diffraction from plane
with Miller indices (100).So (h 2 +k2 +l2) = 1. The integer 7 cannot be written in the form (h 2 +k2 +l2) and
hence sin2θ cannot be equal to 7K.The diffraction pattern for cubic lattice will consists of a set of equally
spaced six lines followed by a gap and then another series of six lines.

For BCC the first reflection is from (110) plane. So (h 2 +k2 +l2) = 2.The diffraction lines for which
(h+k+l) is odd are absent.
For FCC the first reflection is from (111) plane. So (h 2 +k2 +l2) = 3. Diffraction lines are observed only
from those planes for which h,k and l are all odd or even.

Thus the missing reflections in the diffraction pattern can help in identifying the type of crystal lattice.
The spacing between the lines for cubic system is 1K while that for BCC is 2K.After the identification of
diffraction pattern it is possible to assign each line with correct value of Miller Indices and hence
determine the value of a.

According to the selection rule the (h2 +k2 +l2) values for different cubic lattice follows the sequence

Cubic:- 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16……………..

BCC:-2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16…………….

FCC:- 3,4,8,11,12,16,19,20,24,27,32…………..

Diamond cubic:-3,8,11,16,19,24,27,32………..

A large number of peaks in the diffraction pattern can be obtained if the pattern is recorded with a
radiation of short wavelength. For example use Mo Kα instead of Cu Kα. X rays have shorter wavelength
as compared to ordinary light and hence ordinary light cannot be used for diffraction

Simple cubic BCC FCC

hkl d sin2θ d sin2θ d sin2θ

100 A K

110 a/√2 2K a/√2 2K

111 a/√3 3K a/√3 3K

200 a/√4 4K a/√4 4K a/√4 4K

210 a/√5 5K

211 a/√6 6K a/√6 6K

220 a/√8 8K a/√8 8K a/√8 8K

300/221 a/√9 9K

310 a/√10 10K a/√10 10K

311 a/√11 11K a/√11 11K

222 a/√12 12K a/√12 12K a/√12 12K

320 a/√13 13K

You might also like