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Unit 3 – The Chemistry of Engineering

Materials

Basic Concepts of Crystal Structures

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Describe the basic structural unit or building block of the crystal
structure.
• Determine to compute the density of a solid given its unit cell.

• Classify the four types of crystals.

• Describe the characteristics of amorphous solids.



1.0 Crystal Structures
Crystalline and amorphous are the two categories of solids. For example, ice which is
a crystalline solid possesses the following characteristics: has rigid and long-range order
and its atoms, molecules, or ions occupy specific positions. In a crystalline solid, the
arrangement of particles is such that the net attractive intermolecular forces are at their
maximum. The molecular forces responsible for the stability of a crystal can be ionic forces,
covalent bonds, van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds, or a combination of these forces. For
amorphous solids such as glass, absence of a well-defined arrangement and long-range
molecular order can be observed.
Atoms or ions (described as crystalline structures) are thought of as being solid
spheres having well-defined diameters. This is known as the atomic hard-sphere model in
which spheres representing nearest-neighbor atoms touch one another. Figure 2c showed
an example of the hard-sphere model for the atomic arrangement found in some of the
common element metals. In this specific case all the atoms are identical. Sometimes the word
lattice is used in the context of crystal structures; in this sense lattice means a three-
dimensional array of points coinciding with atom positions or sphere centers.

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2.0 UNIT CELLS

A unit cell is the basic structural (repeating) unit of a crystalline solid. Figure 1 shows
a unit cell and its extension in three dimensions. For each sphere, it denotes an atom, ion, or
molecule and it is called a lattice point. In many crystals, the lattice point does not actually
contain such a particle. Rather, there may be several atoms, ions, or molecules identically
arranged about each lattice point. To be simple, we can assume that each lattice point is
occupied by an atom where cases are mostly metals. Table 1 shows the seven types of unit
cells where every crystalline solid can be expressed.

a) b)

Figure 1. (a) unit cell and (b) an extension of unit cell in three dimensions. The black spheres
denote either atoms or molecules (Chang & Goldsby, 2017).

Table 1. The seven types of unit cells. Angle α is defined by edges b and c, angle β by edges a
and c, and angle γ by edges a and b (Chang & Goldsby, 2017).

Unit cells Figure Dimensions and angle

Simple cubic 𝑎 = 𝑏 = 𝑐
𝛼 = 𝛽 = 𝛾 = 90°



Tetragonal 𝑎 = 𝑏 ≠ 𝑐
𝛼 = 𝛽 = 𝛾 = 90°

Orthorhombic 𝑎 ≠ 𝑏 ≠ 𝑐
𝛼 = 𝛽 = 𝛾 = 90°

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Rhombohedral 𝑎 = 𝑏 = 𝑐
𝛼 = 𝛽 = 𝛾 ≠ 90°


Monoclinic 𝑎 ≠ 𝑏 ≠ 𝑐
𝛾 ≠ 𝛼 = 𝛽 = 90°

Tricilinic 𝑎 ≠ 𝑏 ≠ 𝑐
𝛼 ≠ 𝛽 ≠ 𝛾 ≠ 90°




Hexagonal 𝑎 = 𝑏 ≠ 𝑐
𝛼 ≠ 𝛽 = 90°, 𝛾 = 120°

The Face-Centered Cubic Crystal Structure

A unit cell of cubic geometry is considered to be the crystal structure found for many
metals. The face-centered cubic (FCC) is a crystal structure with atoms located at each of
the corners and the center of all the cube faces. Some familiar metals having this crystal
structure are copper, aluminum, silver, and gold (See Table 2). Figure 2a shows a hard-
sphere model for the FCC unit cell, whereas in Figure 2b the atom centers are represented
by small circles to provide a better perspective on atom positions. The aggregate of atoms in
Figure 2c represents a section of crystal consisting of many FCC unit cells. These spheres or
ion cores touch one another across a face diagonal; the cube edge length a and the atomic
radius R are related through

𝑎 = 2𝑅√2 Equation 1

Table 3 shows the relationship between the edge length (a) and radius (r) of atoms in the
SCC, BCC and FCC cell.

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Example 1. Calculate the volume of an FCC unit cell in terms of the atomic

radius R.










Solution:

V = 𝑎+ 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑎 =? 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎.



From the figure, solve for a: 𝑎! + 𝑎! = (4𝑅)!


Therefore, 𝑎 = 2𝑅√2

The FCC unit cell volume 𝑉& may be computed from

𝑉& = 𝑎+ = (2𝑅√2)+ = 𝟏𝟔𝑹𝟑 √𝟐




Table 2. Atomic Radii and Crystal Structures for 16 Metals (Callister & Rethwisch, 2014).

Metal Crystal Atomic Metal Crystal Atomic
Structure* Radius** Structure* Radius**
(nm) (nm)
Aluminum FCC 0.1431 Molybdenum BCC 0.1363
Cadmium HCP 0.1490 Nickel FCC 0.1246
Chromium BCC 0.1249 Platinum FCC 0.1387
Cobalt HCP 0.1253 Silver FCC 0.1445
Copper FCC 0.1278 Tantalum BCC 0.1430
Gold FCC 0.1442 Titanium (𝛼) HCP 0.1445
Iron (𝛼) BCC 0.1241 Tungsten BCC 0.1371
Lead FCC 0.1750 Zinc HCP 0.1332
*FCC = face-centered cubic; HCP = hexagonal close-packed; BCC=body-centered cubic.
**A nanometer (nm) equals 10-9m; to convert nanometers to angstrom units (Å), multiply the
nanometer value by 10.

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a) b) c)

Figure 2. For the face-centered cubic crystal structure, (a) a hard-sphere unit cell
representation, (b) a reduced- sphere unit cell, and (c) an aggregate of many atoms (Callister
& Rethwisch, 2014).

In determining the number of atoms associated with each unit cell that depends on
an atom’s location, shared with adjacent unit cells may be considered. That is, some fraction
of the atom is assigned to a specific cell. For example, for cubic unit cells, an atom completely
within the interior “belongs” to that unit cell, one at a cell face is shared with one other cell,
and an atom residing at a corner is shared among eight. The number of atoms per unit cell,
N, can be computed using the following formula:

<$ <&
𝑁 = 𝑁) + !
+ 8
Equation 2

Where Ni = the number of interior atoms; Nf = number of face atoms and Nc = number
of corner atoms

For the FCC crystal structure, there are eight corner atoms, six face atoms and no interior
atoms. Therefore, from Equation 2.

6 8
𝑁 = 0 + + = 4
2 8

A total of four whole atoms may be assigned to a given unit cell.

There are two important characteristics of a crystal structure: (a) the coordination
number (for metals) wherein each atom has the same number of nearest-neighbor or
touching atoms; and (b) atomic packing factor (APF) which is the sum of the sphere
volumes of all atoms within a unit cell (assuming the atomic hard-sphere model) divided by
the unit cell volume. For FCCs, the coordination number is 12 as can be seen in Figure 2a.
Front face atoms has four nearest neighboring atoms around it, four face atoms that are link
from behind, and four other equivalent face atoms positioned in the next unit cell to the front
which is not shown.

From the definition of APF, the formula is:

=.2>'? .@ AB? 1A.'C )* 1 >*)A &?22
𝐴𝑃𝐹 = D.A12 >*)A .@ &?22 =.2>'?
Equation 3

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Example 2. Show that the atomic packing factor for the FCC crystal structure
is 0.74.

Solution:

=.2>'? .@ AB? 1A.'C )* 1 >*)A &?22 =
𝐴𝑃𝐹 = D.A12 >*)A .@ &?22 =.2>'?
= ='
&

Volume of a sphere (𝑉C ) in terms of the atomic radius R is equal to

$
+
𝜋𝑅+ , and the number of atoms per FCC unit cell if four. Therefore, the total

FCC atom or sphere volume is
$ (5
𝑉C = (4) + 𝜋𝑅+ = +
𝜋𝑅+

From Example 1, the total unit cell volume is

𝑉& = 16𝑅+ √2

Therefore, the atomic packing factor is

!(
= GE )
𝐴𝑃𝐹 = =' = (5E
)
)
= 𝟎. 𝟕𝟒
& √!

The Body-Centered Cubic Crystal Structure

A body-centered cubic (BCC) is another common metallic crystal structure that also
has a cubic unit cell with atoms located at all eight corners and a single atom at the center of
the cube. Figures 3a and 3b showed the diagrams of BCC unit cells with the atoms
represented by hard-sphere and reduced-sphere models while Figure 3c displayed a
collection of spheres depicting this crystal structure. Corner atoms and center touch one
another along with the diagonal of the cube, and unit cell length a and atomic radius R are
related by the way of
$E
𝑎 = Equation 4
√+

From Equation 2, the number of atoms per BCC is

<$ <& 8
𝑁 = 𝑁) + !
+ 8
= 1 + 0 + 8 = 2

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The BCC crystal structure has 8 coordination number. The atomic packing factor for
BCC 0.68 which is lower than for FCC, since BCC has lesser coordination number.

a) b) c)

Figure 3. Body-centered cubic crystal structure, (a) a hard-sphere unit cell representation,
(b) a reduced-sphere unit cell, and (c) an aggregate of many atoms (Callister & Rethwisch,
2014).

The possibility of a unit cell that consists of atoms placed only at the corners of a cube
do exist and it is called the simple cubic (SC) crystal structure. The illustration is shown in
Figure 4a and 4b. Polonium, a metalloid or a semi-metal is the only simple-cubic element that
has a relatively low atomic packing factor.

a) b)

Figure 4. Simple cubic crystal structure, (a) hard-sphere unit cell, and (b) a reduced-sphere
unit cell (Callister & Rethwisch, 2014).

Table 3. The Relationship Between the edge length (a) and radius (r) of atoms in the SCC,
BCC and FCC cell (Chang & Goldsby, 2017).

Unit cells Figure Relationship

Simple Cubic a= 2r

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Body-centered cubic

b2 = a2 + a2
c2 = a2 + b2 = 3a2
c = √3a = 4r
a = 4r
√3


Face-centered cubic
b = 4r
b2 = a2 + a2
16r2 = 2a2
a = √8r




The Hexagonal Close-Packed Crystal Structure
The final common metallic crystal structure to be discussed is the hexagonal close-
packed (HCP). The top and bottom faces of the unit cell is consist of six atoms that form
regular hexagons and surround a single atom in the center. Between the top and bottom
planes, there is another plane that provides three additional atoms to the unit cell. The atoms
in this midplane have as nearest neighbors atoms in both of the adjacent two planes. Figure
5a shows a reduced-sphere unit cell for HCP structure and Figure 5b presents an assemblage
of several HCP unit cells.
To compute the number of atoms per unit cell for HCP crystal structure, the formula
is shown below:
<$ <&
𝑁 = 𝑁) + !
+ 5
Equation 5

One-sixth of each corner atom is designated to a unit cell instead of 8 as with the cubic
structure. This is because, HCP has 6 corner atoms in each of the top and bottom faces for a
total of 12 corner atoms, 2 face center atoms (one from each of the top and bottom faces),
and 3 midplane interior atoms. Using Equation 5, the value of N for HCP can be found.

! (!
𝑁 = 3 + (! + 5 = 6 (there are 6 atoms assigned to each unit cell)

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a) b)







Figure 5. The hexagonal close-packed crystal structure, (a) a reduced-sphere unit cell (a
and c represent the short and long edge lengths, respectively), and (b) an aggregate of
many atoms (Callister & Rethwisch, 2014).

3.0 DENSITY COMPUTATIONS
A theoretical density (𝜌) can be computed with a knowledge of the crystal structure
of a metallic solid through the relationship

!"
𝜌 = # $ Equation 6
! "

Where n = number of atoms associated with each unit cell
A = atomic weight
VC = volume of the unit cell
NA = Avogadro’s number (6.022 x 1023 atoms/mol)




Example 3. Copper (A=63.5 g/mol) has an atomic radius of 0.128 nm, an FCC
crystal structure, and an atomic weigh of 63.5 g/mol. Compute its theoretical
density, and compare the answer with its measured density.

Solution:
!"#$ !"#$
𝜌=# =
# $" (&'(% )*)$"



(, ./012/(4!5/ 6788))('9.; </108)
=
&')*(&.*= > &?&' 61)% /4!5/ 6788] ('.?**>&?(% ./012/10876487)


𝒈
= 𝟖. 𝟖𝟗 𝒄𝒎𝟑

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Example 4. Gold (Au) crystallizes in a cubic close-packed structure (the
face-centered cubic unit cell) and has a density of 19.3 g/cm3. Calculate the
atomic radius of gold in picometers.

Solution:

The sequence of steps is summarized as follows:

Density of unit cellàvolume of unit cellàedge length of unit cellàradius
of Au atom

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
𝜌 = ; 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒


$ 1A.'C ( '.2 (I4.0 - J>
𝑚 = ( >*)A &?22 𝑥 5.0!!H(0*) 1A.'C 𝑥 ( '.2 J> =
-K1'
1.31 𝑥 103!( >*)A &?22



Solve for volume
' (.+(H(0+*! -
𝑉 = L = , = 6.79𝑥103!+ 𝑐𝑚+
(I.+
&-)



Solve for the edge a
)
𝑉 = 𝑎+ ; 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑎 = √𝑉 =
)
√6.79𝑥1𝑜 3!+ 𝑐𝑚+ = 4.08𝑥1038 𝑐𝑚

From Table 2 we see the radius of an Au sphere (r) is related to the edge
length by
𝑎 = √8 𝑟

Therefore,
1 $.08H(0+# &' (H(0+* ' (M'
𝑟 = = = 1.44𝑥1038 𝑐𝑚 𝑥 ( &'
𝑥 (H(0+!* '
√8 √8

𝒓 = 𝟏𝟒𝟒 𝒑𝒎

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4.0 X-Ray Diffraction by Crystals

X-ray diffraction refers to the scattering of X-rays by the units of a crystalline solid. The
patterns produced by scattering, or diffraction are used to deduce the particle arrangement
in the solid lattice.
Figure 5 shows the interference phenomenon associated with waves. Since X-rays are
one form of electromagnetic radiation, therefore, we would expect that waves exhibit such
behavior under relevant conditions. In 1912, Max von Laue, a German physicist
recommended that since the wavelength of X-rays is comparable in magnitude to the
distances between lattice points in a crystal, then the lattice should be able to diffract X-rays.
Interference in the waves associated with X-rays produced an X-ray diffraction pattern.








Figure 6. Constructive interference (a) and destructive interference
(b) of two waves of the same wavelength and amplitude (Chang &
Goldsby, 2017).

a) b)

Figure 7 shows a typical X-ray diffraction setup. A beam of X rays is directed at a

mounted crystal. Atoms in the crystal absorb some of the incoming radiation and then reemit
it; the process is called the scattering of X rays

Figure 7. (a) An arrangement for obtaining the X-ray diffraction pattern of a crystal. The
shield prevents the strong undiffracted X rays from damaging the photographic plate. (b) X-
ray diffraction pattern of crystalline lysozyme, a protein. The white "L" is a shadow of the
sample holder and shield (Chang & Goldsby, 2017).

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The X-ray diffraction technique gives the most accurate method for determining bond
lengths and bond angles in molecules in the solid state. Chemists can construct an electron-
density contour map from the diffraction patterns because X-rays are scattered by electrons
but it is with the use of a complex mathematical procedure. An electron-density contour map
basically tells us the relative electron densities at various locations in a molecule. The
densities reach a maximum near the center of each atom and in this manner we can
determine the positions of the nuclei and thus the molecular geometric parameters.

5.0 TYPES OF CRYSTALS
In determining the structures and properties of crystals, such as melting point,
density, and hardness it is important to consider the kinds of forces that hold the particles
together. The classification of any crystal has four types: ionic, covalent, molecular, or
metallic.

Ionic Crystals
There are two important characteristics of ionic crystals and they are as follows: (1)
They are composed of charged species and (2) anions and cations are generally quite
different in size. The radii of the ions must be known because it is helpful in understanding
the structure and stability of these compounds. It is hard to measure the radius of an
individual ion but sometimes it is possible to come up with an estimation. For example, if we
know the radius of 𝐼 3 𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝐼 is about 216 pm, we can determine the radius of 𝐾 N 𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝐼,
and from that, the radius of 𝐶𝑙 3 𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝐶𝑙, and so on. For example, the 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 crystal which has
a face-centered cubic lattice (see Figure 8) shows that the edge length of the unit cell of 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙
is twice the sum of the ionic radii of 𝑁𝑎N 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑙 3 . Getting the values of ionic radius given in
some references the we calculate the length of the edge to 2(95 + 181) 𝑝𝑚, 𝑜𝑟 552 𝑝𝑚. In
Figure 8, the edge length shown was determined by X-ray diffraction which has a value of
564 𝑝𝑚. The difference between these two values tells us that the radius of an ion actually
varies slightly from one compound to another. Figure 9 shows the portions of the Na+ and
Cl- ions within a unit cell.

Figure 8. Relation between the radii of Na+ and Cl- ions and the unit cell dimensions. Here
the cell edge length is equal to twice the sum of the two ionic radii (Chang & Goldsby, 2017).

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Figure 9. Portions of 𝑁𝑎N 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑙 3 Na+ ions within a face-centered cubic unit cell (Chang &
Goldsby, 2017).

Figure 10 shows the crystal structures of three ionic compounds:

𝐶𝑠𝐶𝑙, 𝑍𝑛𝑆, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑎𝐹! . 𝐶𝑠𝐶𝑙 has the simple cubic lattice because 𝐶𝑠 N is considerably larger
than 𝑁𝑎N . 𝑍𝑛𝑆 has the zincblende structure, which is based on the face-centered cubic lattice.
If the 𝑆 !3 ions occupy the lattice points, the 𝑍𝑛!N ions are located one-fourth of the distance
along each body diagonal. Other ionic compounds that have the zincblende structure include
𝐶𝑢𝐶𝑙, 𝐵𝑒𝑆, 𝐶𝑑𝑆, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑔𝑆. 𝐶𝑎𝐹! has the fluorite structure. The 𝐶𝑎!N ions occupy the lattice
points, and each 𝐹 3 ion is tetrahedrally surrounded by four 𝐶𝑎!N ions. The compounds
𝑆𝑟𝐹! , 𝐵𝑎𝐹! , 𝐵𝑎𝐶𝑙! , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑏𝐹! also have the fluorite structure.


a) b) c)




Figure 10. Crystal structures of (a) 𝐶𝑠𝐶𝑙, (b) 𝑍𝑛𝑆, and (c) 𝐶𝑎𝐹! . In each case, the cation is the
smaller sphere (Chang & Goldsby, 2017).

Most ionic crystals have high melting points which is an indication of the strong
cohesive forces holding the ions together. A measure of the stability of ionic crystals is the
lattice energy; the higher the lattice energy, the more stable the compound. Since the ions
are fixed in position, therefore these solids do not conduct electricity. The ions are free to
move when in the molten state (melted) or dissolved in water, thereby the resulting liquid
is conducting electricity.

Covalent Crystals
Covalent crystals exists when atoms are held together in an extensive three-
dimensional network altogether by covalent bonds. Examples are the two allotropes of
carbon: diamond and graphite. Each carbon atom of diamond is 𝑠𝑝+ ℎ𝑦𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 where it is
bonded to four other atoms (Figure 11). The unusual hardness and very high melting point

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(3550°𝐶) of diamond are attributed with the strong covalent bonds that exist in three
dimensions while for graphite, carbon atoms are arranged in six-membered rings. The atoms
are all sp2-hybridized and each atom is covalently bonded to three other atoms. There is a
remaining unhybridized 2𝑝 orbital that is used in 𝑝𝑖 bonding.


a) b)






Figure 11. (a) The structure of diamond. Each carbon is tetrahedrally bonded to four other
carbon atoms. (b) The structure of graphite. The distance between successive layers is 335
pm (Chang & Goldsby, 2017).

Graphite is considered as a good conductor of electricity in directions along the planes

of carbon atoms, this is because electrons are free to move around in this extensively
delocalized molecular orbital. The hardness of graphite is caused by the covalent bonds that
exist in its layers which are held together by weak van der Waals forces. Furthermore, the
layers of graphite can slide one another, that’s why it is slippery to the touch and is effective
as lubricant. It is also used in pencils and ribbons made for computer printers and
typewriters.
Another example of covalent crystal is quartz (𝑆𝑖𝑂! ). The silicon atoms in quartz has
a similar arrangement to that of carbon in diamond, but in quartz there is a presence of
oxygen atom between each pair of 𝑆𝑖 atoms. A polarity exist in 𝑆𝑖 − 𝑂 bond because 𝑆𝑖 and
𝑂 have different electronegativities. Still, 𝑆𝑖𝑂! is similar to diamond in many aspects because
of its hardness and high melting point of 1610 °𝐶 .

Molecular Crystals
The lattice points in a molecular crystal are occupied by molecules which has a van
der Waals forces and/or hydrogen bonding. Solid sulfur dioxide (𝑆𝑂! ) is an example in which
the predominant attractive force is a dipole-dipole interaction. The intermolecular hydrogen
bonding is mainly responsible for maintaining the three-dimensional lattice of ice.
𝐼! , 𝑃$ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆8 are other examples of molecular crystals.
The molecules in a molecular crystals (except for ice) are packed together as closely
as their size and shape allow. Since van der Waals and hydrogen bonding are generally quite
weak as compared with ionic and covalent bonds, molecular crystals are more easily broken
apart than ionic and covalent crystals. Additionally, most molecular crystals melt at
temperature below 100 °𝐶.

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Metallic Crystals
Metallic crystals has the simplest structure because every lattice points in the crystal
are occupied by an atom of the same metal. Metallic crystals are usually body-centered cubic,
face-centered cubic or hexagonal close-packed, therefore metallic elements are usually very
dense.
The bonding electrons in a metal are delocalized over the entire crystals which is
actually different from other types of crystals. The metal atoms in a crystal can be imagined
as an array of positive ions immersed in a sea of delocalized valence electrons and these
delocalized electron makes metals a good conductor of heat and electricity. And also, metal’s
strength is caused by the great cohesive forces resulting from delocalization.
Table 4 summarizes the properties of the four different types of crystals.

Table 4. Types of Crystals and General Properties (Chang & Goldsby, 2017).
Type of Crystal Force(s) Holding General Properties Examples
the Units Together
Ionic Electrostatic Hard, brittle, high NaCl, LiF, MgO,
attraction melting point, poor CaCO3
conductor of heat
and electricity
Covalent Covalent bond Hard, high melting C (diamond)**, SiO2
point, poor (quartz)
conductor of heat
and electricity
Molecular* Dispersion forces, Soft, low melting Ar, CO2, I2, H2O,
dipole-dipole forces, point, poor C12H22O11 (sucrose)
hydrogen bonds conductor of heat
and electricity
Metallic Metallic bond Soft to hard, low to All metallic
high melting point, elements; for
good conductor of example, Na, Mg, Fe,
heat and electricity Cu
*Included in this category are crystals made up of individual atoms.
**Diamond is a good thermal conductor.

6.0 AMORPHOUS SOLIDS
We all know that crystalline form of solids are most stable, but if it solidify rapidly
then its atoms or molecules do not have time to align themselves and may become locked in
positions other than those of regular crystals. This resulting solid is said to be amorphous.
Amorphous solids lack a regular three-dimensional arrangement of atoms.

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Glass is an example of an amorphous solid. Glass commonly refers to an optically

transparent fusion product of inorganic materials that has cooled to a rigid state without
crystallizing. By product of a fusion, we mean that the glass is formed by mixing molten
silicon dioxide (𝑆𝑖𝑂! ), with compounds such as sodium oxide (𝑁𝑎! 𝑂), boron oxide (𝐵! 𝑂+ ),
and certain transition metal oxides for color and other properties. Silicon dioxide is the chief
component of glass. In some aspect glass acts more like a liquid than a solid. Glass lacks a
long-range periodic order as results shown in X-ray diffraction studies.
X-ray diffraction studies show that

Figure 12 shows two-dimensional schematic representations of crystalline quartz
and amorphous quartz glass.
a) b)






Figure 12. Two-dimensional representation of (a) crystalline quartz and (b) noncrystalline
quartz glass. The small spheres represent silicon. In reality, the structure of quartz is three-
dimensional. Each Si atom is tetrahedrally bonded to four O atoms (Chang & Goldsby, 2017).

There are about 800 different types of glass in common use today. Figure 12 shows
two-dimensional schematic representations of crystalline quartz and amorphous quartz
glass.

Table 5. Composition and Properties of Three Types of Glass (Chang & Goldsby, 2017)
Name Composition Properties and Uses
Pure quartz glass 100% SiO2 Low thermal expansion, transparent to
wide range of wavelengths. Used in
optical research.
Pyrex glass SiO2, 60-80% Low thermal expansion; transparent to
B2O3, 10-25% visible and infrared, but not to UV
Al2O3, small amount radiation. Used mainly in laboratory
and household cooking glassware.
Soda-lime glass SiO2, 75% Easily attacked by chemicals and
Na2O, 15% sensitive to thermal shocks. Transmits
CaO, 10% visible light, but absorbs UV radiation.
Used mainly in windows and bottles.

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The color of the glass is because of the presence of metal ion (as oxides). For example,
green glass contains iron(III) oxide, 𝐹𝑒! 𝑂+ , or copper(II) oxide, 𝐶𝑢𝑂; yellow glass contains
uranium(IV) oxide, 𝑈𝑂! ; blue glass contains cobalt(II) and copper(II) oxides, 𝐶𝑜𝑂 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑢𝑂;
and red glass which contains small particles of gold and copper. Most of the ions mentioned
are derived from the transition metals.

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SCI 401 –GENERAL CHEMISTRY