Materials Physics – Chapter 2

Crystal Structure of Solids

Dr. Amr Hessein

First Year Civil Engineers

2017-2018

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❑Theory of solid formation
➢In solids, the way the atoms or molecules arrange themselves
contribute to the appearance and the properties of the materials

➢These particles are held together by fairly strong forces;

therefore, they are present at fixed positions. 2
❑Atomic Bonds
➢ The properties of the materials basically depend on the type of
bonds between the constituents atoms.
➢ When two atoms are come to a small separation distances,
each atom exerts forces on the other.
➢These forces are of two types, attractive (FA) and repulsive (FR).

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❑Atomic Bonds
➢ Types of Bonds
A. Primary Bonds:
▪The bonding necessarily involves the valence electrons.
▪Usually they are strong bonds
▪Originate from the tendency of the atoms to assume stable
electron structures
1. Covalent bond
2. Ionic bond
3. Metallic bond
B. Secondary Bonds:
▪Valence electrons are not involved in theses bonds, but arise
from atomic or molecular dipoles
▪They are relatively weaker bonds than primary bonds.
4. Van der Waals bond
5. Hydrogen bond
➢The presence of secondary bonds may be obscured if any of the
three primary bonding types is present 4
❑Theory of solid formation

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❑Energy Bands
➢ In case of single isolated atom, an electron are brought in any orbit has
a definite energy states (Energy level).
➢When atoms are brought together to form molecules and solids, the
interaction between the various energy levels makes what is called
energy bands.

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❑Types of Solids
➢Due to the different atoms arrangement in the microstructure,
There are two main forms of solid matter:
1. Amorphous solids
➢In which the solid do not posses long-range order or no order
of atoms positions (the atoms are randomly arranged )
2. Crystalline solids
➢ In which the atoms are arranged in a regular pattern that
extending in the three dimensions within the solid

Temperature

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❑Types of solids
1. Amorphous solids:
▪ The atoms held apart at equilibrium spacing, but with no long-
range periodicity.
▪ The molecules are arranged in a random manner ( super-cooled
liquids).
▪ Formed due to sudden cooling of melted materials (liquids).
▪ Amorphous material are isotopic ( i.e. identical properties in all
directions).
▪ Examples: glasses and plastics and polymers are often
amorphous.

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❑Types of Solids
1. Amorphous solids:
➢ Properties of amorphous solids:
1. Do not have long range of periodicity.
2. Do not have specified geometrical shape ( microstructure)
3. They are unsymmetrical: i.e. when rotated about an axis the
appearance will change.
4. Have the same properties in all directions (Isotropic).
5. They do not have a sharp melting point; they melt gradually
over a wide range of temperature.
6. Amorphous solids do not break at fixed cleavage planes, but
break with irregular surface.

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❑Types of Solids
2. Crystalline solids:
▪ The atoms held apart at equilibrium spacing in regular and
repetitive arrangement.
▪ The particles are packed relatively close together to minimize
the total intermolecular energy.
▪ Formed due to gradual cooling of melted materials (liquids).
▪ Examples: More than 90% of natural and artificial solids are
crystalline , Minerals, NaCl, diamond, graphite

➢ The regular repeating pattern that the atoms arranged in is

called crystal lattice. 10
❑Types of Solids
2. Crystalline solids:
➢ Properties of crystalline solids:
1. Have long range of periodicity.
2. Have specified geometrical shape (microstructure)
3. They are symmetrical: i.e. when rotated about an axis the
appearance does not change.
4. The physical properties of crystalline solid are different in
different directions (Anisotropic).
5. Have a sharp melting point.
6. Crystalline solids break at a particular direction at fixed
cleavage planes, i.e. break with plane surface.

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❑Types of Solids
Crystalline Solids

Single Crystal Multiple crystal

(Monocrystalline) (Polycrystalline)

➢The periodic structure ➢The periodic structure

extended across the extended over only small
whole solid volume part called grain
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❑Types of Solids
➢ Most of engineering materials are Polycrystalline.

Tilt Boundary Twist Boundary

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❑Types of Solids

Electron backscatter diffraction 14

(EBSD)
❑Crystal Structure
➢The network of atoms, molecules or ions is known as
a crystal lattice, space lattice, or simply as a lattice.
▪ Any location in a crystal lattice is known as a lattice point.
▪ Every lattice point in a crystal is occupied by individual atom.
▪ In space lattice, every point has identical surroundings.

➢Lattice, can be defined as a distribution of particles in three

dimensions such that every point (particle) has identical surroundings.
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❑Crystal Structure
➢When describing crystalline structures:
▪ Atoms (or ions) are thought of as being solid spheres having
well-defined diameters (atomic hard-sphere model).
▪ In this model, spheres representing nearest-neighbour atoms
touch one another.

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❑Crystal Structure
➢Unit Cell:
▪ It is the basic structural unit or building block of the crystal
structure and defines the crystal structure.

▪The crystal is constructed by the repetition of the unit cell in

the three dimensions.
▪ The unit cell is normally selected to be the simplest of the
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possible repeating units.
❑Crystal Structure
➢Unit Cell Properties:
▪ Every unit cell in a crystal is identical in size, shape and
orientation to every other unit cell.
▪ The unit cell is represented in terms of its lattice
parameters, which are the lengths of the cell edges (a, b, c)
and the angles between them (α, β, γ).

α, the angle formed by the b and c cell edges

β, the angle formed by the a and c cell edges
γ, the angle formed by the a and b cell edges

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❑Crystal Structure
➢Unit Cell Properties:
▪ A unit cell is chosen to represent the symmetry of the crystal
structure, wherein all the atom positions in the crystal may be
generated by translations of the unit cell integral distances along
each of its edges.

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❑Crystal Structure
➢On the basis of translational symmetry

The seven crystal systems 20

❑Crystal Structure

Unit Cell

Primitive Centered

Body-Centered Face-centered End-centered

➢Primitive unit cell, unit cell that contains lattice points only at its
corners and is equivalent to one atom. 21
❑Crystal Structure
Bravais lattice

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❑Crystal Structure
Bravis lattice

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❑Crystal Structure
Bravis lattice

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❑Crystal Structure

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