Lecture 8
Structure of Solids
Outline
Packing of atoms in crystals: FCC, HCP and
BCC crystals, stacking sequence
Close packed planes and directions, Packing
fraction
Voids in solids: tetrahedral and octahedral
voids
Implications of voids
Solids
Crystalline
Long-range periodicity
Gives sharp
diffraction patterns
Has sharp melting point
Has higher density
Noncrystalline
No long-range periodicity
Does not give sharp
diffraction patterns
Does not have a sharp
melting point
Has a lower density
Peak Broadening
Classification of crystals based on bonding
Molecular crystals: molecules are held by primary covalent
bonds, while intermolecular bonding are of weak Van der
wall/hydrogen type.
Non-molecular crystals: Metallic, covalent, ionic type of bond
METALLIC
COVALENT
IONIC
Actual bonding in material need not to be of one kind, it can
be of mixed nature
Metallic crystals
Positive ions in a free electron cloud
Metallic bonds are non-directional
Each atoms tends to surround itself with as many
neighbours as possible!
Usually high temperature BCC (Open structure)
The partial covalent character of transition metals is a
possible reason for many of them having the BCC
structure at low temperatures
FCC
Al, Fe (910 - 1410C), Cu, Ag, Au, Ni, Pd, Pt
BCC Li, Na, K , Ti, Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Fe
(below 910C),
HCP
Be, Mg, Ti, Zr, Hf, Zn, Cd
Cubic close packed (CCP) crystal: FCC lattice
monoatomically decorated with a single atom/ion motif
Body centred crystal (BCC) crystal: BCC lattice
monoatomically decorated with a single atom/ion motif
Hexagonal close packed (HCP) crystal: hexagonal lattice
decorated with a two atom/ion motif
We will understand about structure and position of voids
in above structures.
How these voids can be occupied by alloying elements to
give us interstitial alloys
Some facts
CCP and HCP crystals are close packed crystals (packing
fraction of 0.74): They have close packed planes and
directions
The voids observed in CCP and HCP crystals are regular
tetrahedron and regular Octahedron
Coordination number for above two: 12
BCC crystal is not a close packed structure. It does not
have close packed plane, but have <111> direction is a close
packed direction
The voids in BCC are non-regular tetrahedron and non
regular Octahedron
Close packing of equal hard
spheres
A close packed row of atoms in 1D
A 2D close packed hexagonal layer of atoms (A layer)
Close-packed plane of atoms
Close-packed directions?
Close packing of equal hard spheres
3-D packing
First layer A
A
A
C
B
A
B
A
Third layer A or C
C
B
A
C
C
B
B
A
Second layer B
C
B
A
C
B
A
Close packed crystals:
ABABAB Hexagonal close packed (HCP)
ABCABC Cubic close packed (CCP)
10
Geometrical properties of ABCABC stacking
A
C
B
A
C
B
A
C
C
B
B
A
C
B
A
C
B
A
11
Geometrical properties of ABCABC stacking
C
B
All atoms are equivalent
and
A
their centres form a lattice
C
3 a
B
Motif: single atom 000
What is the Bravais lattice?
ABCABC stacking
= CCP crystal
= FCC lattice + single atom motif 000
12
Close packed planes in the FCC unit cell of cubic close packed crystal
Body
diagonal
A
C
A
Close packed planes: {1 1 1}
13
Stacking sequence?
14
Stacking sequence?
15
HCP
+
HCP
Unit cell of HCP (Rhombic prism)
Note: Atoms are coloured differently but are the same
Courtesy: A. Subramanium
Hexagonal Lattice
HCP crystal
+
Motif
As we have seen that HCP crystal is constructed starting with a hexgonal close packed layer,
with ABABAB.. packing.
Two atom Motif
The 6-fold axis (present in a single layer) is lost on ABABAB.. packing and only a 3-fold remains.
Though 3 unit cells are often shown in diagrams- the rhombic prism (blue outline) is the unit cell.
Courtesy: A. Subramanium
Atoms: (0,0,0), (, ,)
Courtesy: A. Subramanium
Geometrical properties of ABAB stacking
A
C
B
b=a
A
=120
C
C
B
B
A
C
B
A
C
B
A
A and B do not have identical neighbours
Either A or B as lattice points, not both
Unit cell: a rhombus based prism with a=bc; ==90, =120
The unit cell contains only one lattice point (simple) but two atoms (motif)
ABAB stacking = HCP crystal = Hexagonal P lattice + 2 atom motif
000
2/3 1/3 1/2
Hexagonal close-packed (HCP) crystal
z
Corner and inside atoms do not have the same
neighbourhood
x
Lattice: Simple hexagonal
hcp lattice
Motif: Two atoms:
000; 2/3 1/3 1/2
hcp crystal
If the HCP crystal has only a 3-fold axis why does it come
under the Hexagonal class of crystals?
Courtesy: A. Subramanium
Screw Axes are a combination of
rotation axes and translations.
The symbols are:
2 1 31 32 41 42 43
61 62 6 3 64 65
The symbols are of the form
xy
The rotation is degrees.
The translation is units along the screw axis.
