Introduction to Materials Science

Crystal Structures
F. M. Castro Cerda, Ph. D.

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1. Summary
i. Basic concepts
ii.Electronic structure
iii.Bonding
iv.Concept of lattice and unit cell
v.Principal metallic crystal cells
vi.Exercises
vii.References
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i. Basic concepts
Atomic structure: Protons, neutrons
and electrons

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i. Basic concepts
Atomic numbers: number of
protons
Atomic mass: Mass in grams of
6.0231023

Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro, 1776 - 1856 4

i. Basic concepts
Atomic
mass

Atomic
number

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ii. Electronic structure
Quantum numbers:
Principal, n
Sub-shells within the principal (orbitals)
Subsidiary, l l = 0, 1, 2, .., (n-1)
Magnetic, ml Spatial orientation of orbitals, [-l, l]
Spin, ms
Ground state: Lowest energy level, 0 K
Pauli exclusion principle: no two electrons can have the
same set of quantum numbers
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ii. Electronic structure
Quantum numbers:
Principal, n
Subsidiary, l
Magnetic, ml
Spin, ms

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ii. Electronic structure
Electronegativity: The
degree to which an
atom attracts electrons
to itself.

Where does it comes

from?

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iii. Bonding
The bonding will take place
whenever there is a decrease in the
chemical energy.
There are strong and weak bonds

Ionic, Covalent, Metallic

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iii. Bonding
Ionic bonds: Attraction between
highly electropositive and highly
electronegative atoms.

Example: NaCl

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ii. Electronic structure

Na+

Cl-
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iii. Bonding
Covalent bonds: Atoms with small
differences in Electronegativity.
Multiple pair atoms can be formed.

Example: Hydrogen molecule H2

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ii. Electronic structure
H

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iii. Bonding
Metallic bonds: Positive ion cores
and valence electrons in the form of
a gas.

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iv. Lattice and unit cell
Solid materials that have a periodic
arrangement of atoms in the space
are said to be crystalline.
Crystals can be described by
assigning points to each atom
position, creating thus a network of
lines in the space. The network is
called lattice.
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iv. Lattice and unit cell

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iv. Lattice and unit cell
Unit cell: basic structural building
block. It is defined by three main
vectors a, b, and c originating from
one corner.

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v. Principal metallic crystal cells
Main unit cells:
BCC: body-centered cubic

FCC: Face-centered cubic

HCP: Hexagonal close-packed

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v. Principal metallic crystal cells

BCC unit cell

a: lattice parameter

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 v. Principal metallic crystal cells
r: atomic radius

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 v. Principal metallic crystal cells
r: atomic radius

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v. Principal metallic crystal cells
APF: atomic packing factor, is the
ratio between the volume of atoms
in the unit cell over the volume of
the unit cell
What is the APF of the BCC unit cell?

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vi. Exercises
1. Find an expression for the lattice parameter a as
function of r for FCC cell
2. Calculate the lattice parameter for Fe (alpha and
gamma) Cu, Al, Mg
3. Calculate the APV for FCC and HCP cells

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vi. Exercises
4. According to the following formula:

Calculate the theoretical density for the

elements in 2.

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vii. References
1. D. R. Askeland et al, The Science and
Engineering of Materials
2. W. D. Callister, Fundamentals of
Materials Science and Engineering
3. W. F. Smith, Foundations of Materials
Science and Engineering

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