Single crystalIn materials science, a single crystal (or single-crystal solid or monocrystalline solid) is a material in which the crystal lattice of the entire sample is continuous and unbroken to the edges of the sample, with no grain boundaries. The absence of the defects associated with grain boundaries can give monocrystals unique properties, particularly mechanical, optical and electrical, which can also be anisotropic, depending on the type of crystallographic structure.
CrystalA crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macroscopic single crystals are usually identifiable by their geometrical shape, consisting of flat faces with specific, characteristic orientations. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography.
Sodium carbonateSodium carbonate (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water. Historically, it was extracted from the ashes of plants grown in sodium-rich soils. Because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood (once used to produce potash), sodium carbonate became known as "soda ash".
Crystal structureIn crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric patterns that repeat along the principal directions of three-dimensional space in matter. The smallest group of particles in the material that constitutes this repeating pattern is the unit cell of the structure.
CarbonCarbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes up about 0.025 percent of Earth's crust. Three isotopes occur naturally, ^12C and ^13C being stable, while ^14C is a radionuclide, decaying with a half-life of about 5,730 years. Carbon is one of the few elements known since antiquity.
Coordination sphereIn coordination chemistry, the first coordination sphere refers to the array of molecules and ions (the ligands) directly attached to the central metal atom. The second coordination sphere consists of molecules and ions that attached in various ways to the first coordination sphere. The first coordination sphere refers to the molecules that are attached directly to the metal. The interactions between the first and second coordination spheres usually involve hydrogen-bonding. For charged complexes, ion pairing is important.
Crystal twinningCrystal twinning occurs when two or more adjacent crystals of the same mineral are oriented so that they share some of the same crystal lattice points in a symmetrical manner. The result is an intergrowth of two separate crystals that are tightly bonded to each other. The surface along which the lattice points are shared in twinned crystals is called a composition surface or twin plane. Crystallographers classify twinned crystals by a number of twin laws. These twin laws are specific to the crystal structure.
Coordination numberIn chemistry, crystallography, and materials science, the coordination number, also called ligancy, of a central atom in a molecule or crystal is the number of atoms, molecules or ions bonded to it. The ion/molecule/atom surrounding the central ion/molecule/atom is called a ligand. This number is determined somewhat differently for molecules than for crystals. For molecules and polyatomic ions the coordination number of an atom is determined by simply counting the other atoms to which it is bonded (by either single or multiple bonds).
Organic compoundIn chemistry, many authors consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds, however, some authors consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. The definition of "organic" versus "inorganic" varies from author to author, and is a topic of debate. For example, methane () is considered organic, but whether some other carbon-containing compounds are organic or inorganic varies from author to author, for example halides of carbon without carbon-hydrogen and carbon-carbon bonds (e.
Coordination geometryThe term coordination geometry is used in a number of related fields of chemistry and solid state chemistry/physics. Molecular geometry The coordination geometry of an atom is the geometrical pattern formed by atoms around the central atom. In the field of inorganic coordination complexes it is the geometrical pattern formed by the atoms in the ligands that are bonded to the central atom in a molecule or a coordination complex.
Coordination complexA coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the coordination centre, and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ligands or complexing agents. Many metal-containing compounds, especially those that include transition metals (elements like titanium that belong to the periodic table's d-block), are coordination complexes. Coordination complexes are so pervasive that their structures and reactions are described in many ways, sometimes confusingly.
Phase transitionIn chemistry, thermodynamics, and other related fields, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas, and in rare cases, plasma. A phase of a thermodynamic system and the states of matter have uniform physical properties. During a phase transition of a given medium, certain properties of the medium change as a result of the change of external conditions, such as temperature or pressure.
NeptuniumNeptunium is a chemical element with the symbol Np and atomic number 93. A radioactive actinide metal, neptunium is the first transuranic element. Its position in the periodic table just after uranium, named after the planet Uranus, led to it being named after Neptune, the next planet beyond Uranus. A neptunium atom has 93 protons and 93 electrons, of which seven are valence electrons. Neptunium metal is silvery and tarnishes when exposed to air. The element occurs in three allotropic forms and it normally exhibits five oxidation states, ranging from +3 to +7.
MineralIn geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form. The geological definition of mineral normally excludes compounds that occur only in living organisms. However, some minerals are often biogenic (such as calcite) or organic compounds in the sense of chemistry (such as mellite). Moreover, living organisms often synthesize inorganic minerals (such as hydroxylapatite) that also occur in rocks.
Carbonate mineralCarbonate minerals are those minerals containing the carbonate ion, CO32-. Calcite group: trigonal Calcite CaCO3 Gaspéite (Ni,Mg,Fe2+)CO3 Magnesite MgCO3 Otavite CdCO3 Rhodochrosite MnCO3 Siderite FeCO3 Smithsonite ZnCO3 Spherocobaltite CoCO3 Aragonite group: orthorhombic Aragonite CaCO3 Cerussite PbCO3 Strontianite SrCO3 Witherite BaCO3 Rutherfordine UO2CO3 Natrite Na2CO3 Dolomite group: trigonal Ankerite CaFe(CO3)2 Dolomite CaMg(CO3)2 Huntite Mg3Ca(CO3)4 Minrecordite CaZn(CO3)2 Barytocalcite BaCa(CO3)2 Carbonate with hydroxide: monoclinic Azurite Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 Hydrocerussite Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2 Malachite Cu2CO3(OH)2 Rosasite (Cu,Zn)2CO3(OH)2 Phosgenite Pb2(CO3)Cl2 Hydrozincite Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6 Aurichalcite (Zn,Cu)5(CO3)2(OH)6 Hydromagnesite Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2.
Post-transition metalThe metallic elements in the periodic table located between the transition metals to their left and the chemically weak nonmetallic metalloids to their right have received many names in the literature, such as post-transition metals, poor metals, other metals, p-block metals and chemically weak metals. The most common name, post-transition metals, is generally used in this article. Physically, these metals are soft (or brittle), have poor mechanical strength, and usually have melting points lower than those of the transition metals.
CrystalliteA crystallite is a small or even microscopic crystal which forms, for example, during the cooling of many materials. Crystallites are also referred to as grains. Bacillite is a type of crystallite. It is rodlike with parallel longulites. The orientation of crystallites can be random with no preferred direction, called random texture, or directed, possibly due to growth and processing conditions.
TourmalineTourmaline (ˈtʊərməlɪn,_-ˌliːn ) is a crystalline silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a wide variety of colors. The name is derived from the Sinhalese (ටෝරමල්ලි), which refers to the carnelian gemstones. Brightly colored Ceylonese gem tourmalines were brought to Europe in great quantities by the Dutch East India Company to satisfy a demand for curiosities and gems.
ForsteriteForsterite (Mg2SiO4; commonly abbreviated as Fo; also known as white olivine) is the magnesium-rich end-member of the olivine solid solution series. It is isomorphous with the iron-rich end-member, fayalite. Forsterite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system (space group Pbnm) with cell parameters a 4.75 Å (0.475 nm), b 10.20 Å (1.020 nm) and c 5.98 Å (0.598 nm). Forsterite is associated with igneous and metamorphic rocks and has also been found in meteorites. In 2005 it was also found in cometary dust returned by the Stardust probe.
CrystallizationCrystallization is the process by which solid forms, where the atoms or molecules are highly organized into a structure known as a crystal. Some ways by which crystals form are precipitating from a solution, freezing, or more rarely deposition directly from a gas. Attributes of the resulting crystal depend largely on factors such as temperature, air pressure, and in the case of liquid crystals, time of fluid evaporation. Crystallization occurs in two major steps.
