"Crystal chemistry is the study of the principles of chemistry behind crystals and their use in describing structure-property relations in solids."
The study of the chemical properties of minerals, including their chemical composition and structural variations.
Crystal structures: The arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in a crystal lattice.
Isomorphism: The ability of two or more minerals or compounds to crystallize in the same crystal system and have similar crystal structures.
X-ray diffraction: A method of determining the arrangement of atoms in a crystal lattice by analyzing the diffraction pattern formed by x-rays passing through the crystal.
Crystal defects: Irregularities in the crystal lattice, including missing atoms, impurities, or dislocations.
Mineral identification: Techniques for identifying minerals, including physical properties such as hardness, color, and cleavage, as well as chemical and spectral analysis.
Phase equilibria: The study of which minerals are stable under different temperature and pressure conditions, and how they interact with each other.
Solid solutions: The ability of two or more minerals or compounds to form a solid solution, with the substituting atoms or ions occupying some sites in the crystal structure.
Mineralogy of common rock-forming minerals: A study of the most common minerals found in rocks, including feldspar, quartz, mica, and calcite.
Mineral paragenesis: The study of the sequence and conditions under which minerals form in a rock or deposit.
Crystallographic symmetry: The study of the symmetry properties of crystals, including the five crystallographic symmetry operations and the 32 crystal classes.
Crystal growth: The process by which crystals form and grow in nature or in the laboratory.
Crystal chemistry of minerals: A study of the chemical composition and bonding of minerals, including silicates, carbonates, sulfides, and oxides.
Solid-state reactions: The chemical reactions that occur between minerals or compounds when they are heated or exposed to different environments.
Crystal optics: The study of the optical properties of crystals, including birefringence, extinction, and pleochroism.
Crystallography databases: Sources of information on crystal structures, including the International Union of Crystallography's Crystallography Open Database (COD) and the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database (AMCSD).
Isomorphism: Isomorphism refers to the ability of two or more mineral species to form a solid solution series such that the end members have the same crystal structure but different chemical compositions.
Polymorphism: Polymorphism is the existence of two or more mineral species that have the same chemical composition but different crystal structures.
Substitution: In some cases, ions of a similar size and charge can substitute for one another within a crystal lattice, resulting in new mineral species.
Coordination: Coordination chemistry in minerals deals with the specific types and arrangements of chemical bonds that take place between negatively charged groups of atoms, called ligands, and positively charged metal ions located within a mineral’s crystal structure.
Defects: Crystal defects are irregularities or deviations from ideal crystal structures that can occur due to a variety of factors, including temperature, pressure, chemical environment, and more.
Solution: Crystal solutions are formed by the dissolution of minerals and subsequent precipitation under different environmental conditions. Solutions can result in a range of mineral morphologies, from well-formed crystals to amorphous precipitates.
Structural units: Structural units refer to the individual components or building blocks that make up a crystal structure. Understanding the relationships between structural units is a key component of mineralogical and crystallographic analysis.
Bonding: The types and strengths of chemical bonding between atoms within mineral structures can have a profound impact on their physical and chemical properties, including color, hardness, and reactivity.
Growth and morphology: The way in which minerals grow and form can be influenced by a wide range of environmental factors, including temperature, pressure, available ions, and more. These factors can also affect the morphology, or shape and size, of mineral crystals.
"The objectives of the field include identifying important raw materials and minerals as well as their names and chemical formulae, describing the crystal structure of important materials and determining their atomic details, learning the systematics of crystal and glass chemistry, understanding how physical and chemical properties are related to crystal structure and microstructure, and studying the engineering significance of these ideas and how they relate to foreign products: past, present, and future."
"Topics studied are chemical bonding, electronegativity, fundamentals of crystallography, crystal and glass structure prediction, phase diagrams and crystal chemistry, imperfections, phase transitions, and structure-property relations."
"Models of many of the technologically important crystal structures (alumina, quartz, perovskite) are studied."
"The effect of crystal structure on the various fundamental mechanisms responsible for many physical properties are discussed."
"Understanding how physical and chemical properties are related to crystal structure and microstructure."
"Mechanical properties (hardness, slip, cleavage, elastic moduli), wetting, thermal properties (thermal expansion, specific heat, thermal conductivity), diffusion, ionic conductivity, refractive index, absorption, color, Dielectrics and Ferroelectrics, and Magnetism."
"Crystal and glass structure prediction: Pauling’s and Zachariasen’s rules."
"Learning the systematics of crystal and glass chemistry."
"Fundamentals of crystallography: crystal systems, Miller Indices, symmetry elements, bond lengths and radii, theoretical density."
"Phase diagrams and crystal chemistry (including solid solutions)."
"Imperfections (including defect chemistry and line defects)."
"Understanding how physical and chemical properties are related to crystal structure and microstructure."
"The principles that govern the assembly of crystal and glass structures are described."
"Structure – property relations: Neumann’s law."
"Structure – property relations: melting point."
"Structure – property relations: mechanical properties (hardness, slip, cleavage, elastic moduli)."
"Structure – property relations: wetting, thermal properties (thermal expansion, specific heat, thermal conductivity), diffusion, ionic conductivity, refractive index, absorption, color, Dielectrics and Ferroelectrics, and Magnetism."
"Crystal structures of representative metals, semiconductors, polymers, and ceramics."
"Studying the engineering significance of these ideas and how they relate to foreign products: past, present, and future."