the importance of crystallography in our daily lives …...the importance of crystallography in our...

IYCr 2014

The importance of crystallography

in our daily lives

Martijn Fransen

PANalytical B.V.

The Netherlands

IYCr 2014 Opening Ceremony

Crystallography in nature

2

Gypsum crystals in the Naica mine

Rocks/minerals

(example: iron ore)

Microscope cross-section showing the

crystallites in a rock sample


Crystallography and X-ray powder diffraction

3 3

A single crystal gives a

diffracted X-ray beam

Also a powder can diffract

X-rays, but with a lower

intensity


Crystallography and X-ray powder diffraction

4 4

How important is the

crystallography of

powders in our daily

lives?


Understanding crystallography to make better cement

5

Making clinker by changing the

crystallography in the kiln (~1200 oC)

Limestone calcination

Kiln Fuel 60 % 30 %

Pow

er

How to lower CO2 emission?

• Make cement with less clinker

• Use alternative fuels

Both require understanding of

crystallography!

Alternative fuels


Iron: the main construction material

6

Ore sorting

Visual grade control Visual grade control After determining

crystallography


Courtesy of Rio Tinto

Iron Ore

Crystal deformation and our daily lives

Metal fatigue De Havilland Comet 1

7 IYCr 2014 Opening Ceremony

Eliminating metal fatigue

8

Compressive stress

Shot peening

introduces

compressive strength

at the metal’s surface


Crystallography and micro-electronic devices

• Computers and cell phones have

become essential in our daily lives

• Crystallography determines the

functioning of many of their components

• A few examples:

– Screen backlights

– Batteries


Making Gallium Nitride (GaN) LEDs

Strained layer

Relaxed layer

[0001]

p-GaN

p-AlGaN

n-GaN

GaN buffer

InGaN/GaN MQW

Sapphire

0.1-1 m

2-3 m

10-15nm

Schematic layer stack L

og

in

ten

sity

Angle

XRD measurement

34 35 36 37 38

Omega/2Theta (

)

0.1

1

10

100

1K

10K

100K

counts/s

Good LEDs make the phone

more energy-efficient


Crystallography and pharmaceuticals

• Almost all pharmaceuticals are crystallographic substances

• Many beneficial materials crystallize in different forms

(polymorphs)

• Understanding crystallography is important for safe

pharmaceutials (also to detect counterfeiting)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thalidomide3Dan.gif

Two polymorphic forms of Indometacin

6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 2Theta (

)

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

Inte

nsity (

counts

)


Crystallography helps us to feed our growing population

13

Optimizing fertilizers for

optimal crop yield Designing optimal

membranes for desalination

plants, generating drinking

water

Adding unique taste

sensations to our food


Conclusions

14

Crystallography is

essential in our daily lives!

Learn more in our booth near the coffee tables

(and grab a chocolate…)


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