Atomic and Ionic

Arrangements (c) 2003 B rooks/C ole Publishing / Thom son Learning™

intensidad

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2Teta
 Short-Range Order versus
Long-Range Order
If we neglect imperfections in materials, there are 3 levels of atomic arrangement.

• No Order: In gases such as argon, the atoms have no order; argon atoms
randomly fill up the space to which the gas is confined.

• Short-range Order: The regular and predictable arrangement of the atoms

over a short distance; usually one or two atom spacing.

• Long-range Order: A regular repetitive arrangement of atoms in a solid

which extends over a very large distance.
 Classification of materials based on the type of atomic order

A: Monoatomic Gases
No Order
e.g. Argon Gas

B: Amorphous Material
Only Short Range Order Single Crystal
e.g. Amorphous Si, e.g. Si2, GaAs
Glasses, Plastics

C: Liquid Crystals
Short Range Order &
Long Range Order (in small volumes)
e.g. LC polymers Polycrystalline
e.g. Metals, Alloys
and Most Ceramics
D: Crystalline Materials
Short & Long Range Order
e.g. Most Metals and Ceramics
 D: Crystalline Materials A Single Crystal is a material made up
Short & Long Range Order of a Three-Dimensional Periodic
e.g. Most Metals and Ceramics Ordering of atoms, ions or molecules

Single Crystal
e.g. Si2, GaAs

Polycrystalline
e.g. Metals, Alloys
and Most Ceramics
 Lattice, Unit Cells, Basis, and Crystal Structures
 Lattice - A collection of points that divide space into
smaller equally sized segments.
 Basis - A group of atoms associated with a lattice
point.

 Unit cell - A subdivision of the lattice that still retains

the overall characteristics of the entire lattice.
 We identify 14 types of
unit cells, or Bravais
lattices, grouped in 7
crystal systems.

Lattice points are located

at the corners of the unit
cells and, in some cases,
at either faces or the
center of the unit cell.
 Lattice, Unit Cells, Basis, and Crystal Structures
 Lattice - A collection of points that divide space into
smaller equally sized segments.
 Basis - A group of atoms associated with a lattice
point.

 Unit cell - A subdivision of the lattice that still retains

the overall characteristics of the entire lattice.

 Atomic radius - The apparent radius of an atom,

typically calculated from the dimensions of the unit
cell, using close-packed directions (depends upon
coordination number).
 Atomic Packing Factor (APF) - The fraction of
space in a unit cell occupied by atoms.
 Coordination Number (CN) - The number of atoms
touching a particular atom, or the number of nearest
neighbors; is one indication of how tightly and
efficiently atoms are packed together.
 Unit Cell
Number of atoms per Unit Cell??
This is an exercise

1 2 4 6

Simple Cubic Body-Center Cubic Face-Center Cubic Hexagonal Close-Packed

 Packing Factor

Assuming that atoms are hard spheres, the general expression for the packing factor is:
 Atoms by Unit Cell = 4

 a = 2R√2
 CN = 12
 APF = 0.74 (max)
 Atoms by Unit Cell = 2

 a = 4R / √3
 CN = 8
 APF = 0.68
 Atoms by Unit Cell = 6

 c/a = 1.633
 CN = 12
 APF = 0.74 (max)
 Allotropic or Polymorphic
Transformations
 Allotropy - The characteristic of an element being able to exist in more
than one crystal structure, depending on temperature and pressure.

 Polymorphism - Compounds exhibiting more than one type of crystal

structure.