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X-ray Powder Diffraction in Conservation Science: Towards Routine Crystal Structure Determination of Corrosion Products on Heritage Art Objects

The crystal structure determination and refinement process of corrosion products on historic art objects using laboratory high-resolution X-ray powder ...

Aarhus University

Synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction data are used to determine the core electron deformation of diamond. Core shell contraction inherently linked to covalent bond formation is observed in close correspondence with theoretical predictions. Accordingly, a precise and physically sound reconstruction of the electron density in diamond necessitates the use of an extended multipolar model, which abandons the assumption of an inert core. The present investigation is facilitated by negligible model bias in the extraction of structure factors, which is accomplished by simultaneous multipolar and Rietveld refinement accurately determining an atomic displacement parameter (ADP) of 0.00181 (1) Å(2). The deconvolution of thermal motion is a critical step in experimental core electron polarization studies, and for diamond it is imperative to exploit the monatomic crystal structure by implementing Wilson plots in determination of the ADP. This empowers the electron-density analysis to precisely administer both the deconvolution of thermal motion and the employment of the extended multipolar model on an experimental basis.

Experimental determination of core electron deformation in diamond.

Synchrotron radiation has many compelling advantages over conventional radiation sources in the measurement of accurate Bragg diffraction data. The variable photon energy and much higher flux may help to minimize critical systematic effects such as absorption, extinction and anomalous scattering. Based on a survey of selected published results from the last decade, the benefits of using synchrotron radiation in the determination of X-ray electron densities are discussed, and possible future directions of this field are examined.

Contemporary X-ray electron-density studies using synchrotron radiation.

Crystalline silicon is an ideal compound to test the current state of experimental structure factors and corresponding electron densities. High-quality structure factors have been measured on crystalline silicon with synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction. They are in excellent agreement with benchmark Pendellösung data having comparable accuracy and precision, but acquired in far less time and to a much higher resolution (sin θ/λ < 1.7 Å(-1)). The extended data range permits an experimental modelling of not only the valence electron density but also the core deformation in silicon, establishing an increase of the core density upon bond formation in crystalline silicon. Furthermore, a physically sound procedure for evaluating the standard deviation of powder-derived structure factors has been applied. Sampling statistics inherently account for contributions from photon counts as well as the limited number of diffracting particles, where especially the latter are particularly difficult to handle.

Nanna Wahlberg

Center for Materials Crystallography,
Department of Chemistry and iNANO,
Center for Materials Crystallography, Department of Chemistry and iNANO

Aarhus University

X-ray Powder Diffraction in Conservation Science: Towards Routine Crystal Structure Determination of Corrosion Products on Heritage Art Objects

Nanna Wahlberg

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Center for Materials Crystallography,Department of Chemistry and iNANO,Center for Materials Crystallography, Department of Chemistry and iNANO

Aarhus University

X-ray Powder Diffraction in Conservation Science: Towards Routine Crystal Structure Determination of Corrosion Products on Heritage Art Objects

Center for Materials Crystallography,
Department of Chemistry and iNANO,
Center for Materials Crystallography, Department of Chemistry and iNANO