Physical and Chemical Crystallography

The crystallography of minerals is focused on the atomic arrangement in the crystal structure or the metric of the crystal lattice and the related structure-property relationships.

Expertise at the Department includes the use of modern diffraction techniques (X-ray, synchrotron, electron) to determine complex mineral structures, measure precise lattice-related parameters, and perform X-ray phase identification. In-situ experimental techniques also allow to study structure-property relationships of minerals and phase transformations under variable P,T conditions.