PX3012

The Solid State

Course coordinator:
Dr. J. Skakle




CM3020
Solid State Chemistry

Course coordinator:
Dr. J. Feldmann




SOLID STATE
Crystals
Crystal structure basics
unit cells
symmetry
lattices
Some important crystal structures and properties
close packed structures
octahedral and tetrahedral holes
basic structures
ferroelectricity
Diffraction
how and why - derivation
Objectives
By the end of this section you should:
be able to identify a unit cell in a symmetrical
pattern
know that there are 7 possible unit cell shapes
be able to define cubic, tetragonal,
orthorhombic and hexagonal unit cell shapes
Why Solids?
most elements solid at room temperature
atoms in ~fixed position
simple case - crystalline solid
Crystal Structure
Why study crystal structures?
description of solid
comparison with other similar materials -
classification
correlation with physical properties
Crystals are everywhere!
More crystals
Early ideas
Crystals are solid - but solids are not
necessarily crystalline
Crystals have symmetry (Kepler) and long
range order
Spheres and small shapes can be packed to
produces regular shapes (Hooke, Hauy)
?
Group discussion
Kepler wondered why snowflakes have 6 corners,
never 5 or 7. By considering the packing of
polygons in 2 dimensions, demonstrate why
pentagons and heptagons shouldnt occur.
Definitions
1. The unit cell
The smallest repeat unit of a crystal structure, in 3D,
which shows the full symmetry of the structure
The unit cell is a
box with:
3 sides - a, b, c
3 angles - , ,
Seven unit cell shapes
Cubic a=b=c ===90
Tetragonal a=bc ===90
Orthorhombic abc ===90
Monoclinic abc ==90, 90
Triclinic abc 90
Hexagonal a=bc ==90, =120
Rhombohedral a=b=c ==90

Think about the shapes that these define - look at the
models provided.
2D example - rocksalt
(sodium chloride, NaCl)
We define lattice points ; these are points
with identical environments
Choice of origin is arbitrary - lattice points need not be
atoms - but unit cell size should always be the same.
This is also a unit cell -
it doesnt matter if you start from Na or Cl
- or if you dont start from an atom
This is NOT a unit cell even though they are all the
same - empty space is not allowed!
In 2D, this IS a unit cell
In 3D, it is NOT
All M.C. Escher works (c) Cordon Art-Baarn-the Netherlands.
All rights reserved.
Examples
The sheets at the end of handout 1 show examples of
periodic patterns. On each, mark on a unit cell.
[remembering that there are a number of different
(correct) answers!]
Summary
Unit cells must link up - cannot have gaps
between adjacent cells
All unit cells must be identical
Unit cells must show the full symmetry of
the structure next section