Lecture Notes 3A – Basic Concepts of Crystal Structure 1

Engr. Caesar Pobre Llapitan

Topics
I. Fundamental Concepts
II. Unit Cells
III. Metallic Crystal Structures
IV. Density Computations
V. Polymorphism and Allotropy
VI. Crystal Systems

I. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

Solids can broadly be classified into two types based on the arrangement of units of matter. The units
of matter may be atoms, molecules or ions. They are,
 Crystalline solids
 Non-crystalline (or) Amorphous solids

A typical solid contains on the order of 1023 atoms/cm3. For the purpose of describing the arrangements
of atoms in a solid, the atoms are hard spheres, much like ping-pong balls.

Solid materials may be classified according to the regularity with which atoms or ions are arranged with
respect to one another.

A crystalline material is one in which the atoms are situated in a repeating or periodic array over large
atomic distances – that is, long-range order exists, such that upon solidification, the atoms will position
themselves in a repetitive three-dimensional pattern, in which each atom is bonded to its nearest
neighbor atoms.

Examples: All metals, many ceramic materials, and certain polymers form crystalline structures under
normal solidification conditions

Properties of crystalline solids depend on

o crystal structure of the material
o the manner in which atoms, ions, or molecules are spatially arranged

When crystalline structures are described, atoms (or ions) are thought of as being solid spheres having
well-defined diameters. This is termed the atomic hard-sphere model in which spheres representing
nearest-neighbor atoms touch one another.

An example of the hard-sphere model for the atomic arrangement are found in some of the common
elemental metals.

Figure 1 Crystal structure - an aggregate of many atoms

(Adopted from Ref 1)
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A lattice is a collection of points, called lattice points, which are arranged in a periodic pattern so that
the surroundings of each point in the lattice are identical.
 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).
 A lattice is a purely mathematical construct and is infinite in extent.
 A lattice may be one-, two-, or three-dimensional

One dimensional

Two dimensional

Three dimensional

Figure 2 Lattice arrangement

A crystal structure is formed by associating every lattice point with an unit assembly of atoms or
molecules identical in composition, arrangement and orientation.

A group of one or more atoms located in a particular way with respect to each other and associated with
each lattice point is known as the basis or motif. The basis must contain at least one atom, but it may
contain many atoms of one or more types.
 When the basis is repeated with correct periodicity in all directions, it gives the actual crystal
structure.
 The crystal structure is real, while the lattice is imaginary.

We obtain a crystal structure by placing the atoms of the basis on every lattice point (i.e., crystal
structure = lattice + basis)
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Engr. Caesar Pobre Llapitan

(a) A one-dimensional lattice. The lattice

points are separated by an equal
distance.

(b) A basis of one atom.

(c) A crystal structure formed by placing

the basis of (b) on every lattice point
in (a).

(d) A crystal structure formed by placing

a basis of two atoms of different types
on the lattice in (a).

(e) The same crystal as shown in (d);

however, the basis has been shifted
relative to each lattice point.

Figure 3. Lattice and basis.

(Adopted from Ref 2)

Bravais lattice + basis = crystal

 There is only one way to arrange points in one dimension such that each point has identical
surroundings—an array of points separated by an equal distance

 There are five distinct ways to arrange points in two dimensions such that each point has identical
surroundings; thus, there are five two-dimensional lattices.

 There are only fourteen unique ways to arrange points in three dimensions. These unique three-
dimensional arrangements of lattice points are known as the Bravais lattices, named after
Auguste Bravais (1811–1863) who was an early French crystallographer.
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Figure 4. The fourteen types of Bravais lattices grouped in seven crystal systems
(Adopted from Ref 2)

II. UNIT CELLS

A unit cell is defined as a fundamental building block of a crystal structure, which can generate the
complete crystal by repeating its own dimensions in various directions.
 The unit cell is a subdivision of a lattice that still retains the overall characteristics of the entire
lattice.
 Lattice points are located at the corners of the unit cells and, in some cases, at either the faces
or the center of the unit cell.
 The lattice is generated by repeating the unit cell in all three dimensions

Our goal in choosing a unit cell for a crystal structure is to find the single repeat unit that, when
duplicated and translated, reproduces the entire crystal structure.

The unit cell concept complements the lattice and basis model for representing a crystal structure.
 Although the methodologies of the lattice and basis and unit cell concepts are somewhat different,
the end result - a description of a crystal - is the same.
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Engr. Caesar Pobre Llapitan

a. A two-dimensional crystal.

b. The crystal with an overlay of a

grid that reflects the symmetry
of the crystal.

c. The repeat unit of the grid

known as the unit cell. Each
unit cell has its own origin.
Figure 5. The unit cell (Adopted from Ref 2)

Unit cells for most crystal structures are parallelepipeds or prisms having three sets of parallel faces.

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.

Thus, the unit cell is the basic structural unit or building block of the crystal structure and
defines the crystal structure by virtue of its geometry and the atom positions within.

Types of Unit Cell

i. Simple or primitive Unit cell - In which the particles are present at the corners only.
ii. Face centered unit cell - In which the particles are present at the corners as well as at the
center of each of six faces
iii. Body centered unit cell - In which the particles are present at the corners as well as at the center
of the unit cell.
iv. End centered unit cell - In which the particles are present at the corners and at the center of two
opposite faces.

Number of Particles Per Unit Cell

Unit Cell Number of particles and their contribution Total

Corner Face Center
Simple cubic 8  1/8 -- -- 1
Face centered 8  1/8 6½ -- 4
Body centered 8  1/8 -- 1 2
End centered 8  1/8 2½ -- 2

The Importance of the Unit Cell

 One can analyze the crystal as a whole by investigating a representative volume.

Example: from unit cell we can

- Find the distances between nearest atoms for calculations of the forces holding the
lattice together
- Look at the fraction of the unit cell volume filled by atoms and relate the density of
solid to the atomic arrangement
- The properties of the periodic Xtal lattice determine the allowed energies of electrons
that participate in the conduction process.

 The unit cell and, consequently, the entire lattice, is uniquely determined by the six lattice
constants: a, b, c, α, β and γ.
 Only 1/8 of each lattice point in a unit cell can actually be assigned to that cell.
 Each unit cell in the figure can be associated with 8  1/8 = 1 lattice point.
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Crystallographic Axes
To specify a given arrangement of points in a space lattice, it is customary to identify a unit cell with a
set of coordinate axes, chosen to have an origin at one of the lattice points.

Consider a unit cell consisting of three mutually perpendicular edges OA, OB and OC as shown in
figure.
 Draw parallel lines along the three edges.
 These lines are taken as crystallographic axes and they are denoted as X, Y and Z axes.

Consider the unit cell as shown in figure.

 Let OA, OB and OC are the intercepts made by the unit cell along X, Y and Z axes respectively.
 These intercepts are known as primitives. In crystallography the intercepts OA, OB and OC
are represented as a, b and c.
 The angle between X and Y axes is represented as . Similarly, the angles between Y and Z and
Z and X axes are denoted by  and , respectively.

These angles ,  and  are called as inter-axial angles or interfacial angles.

To represent a lattice, the three interfacial angles and their corresponding intercepts are essential.
These six parameters are said to be lattice parameters.

Primitive Cell
The primitive cell may be defined as a geometrical shape which, when repeated indefinitely in three
dimensions, will fill all space and is the equivalent of one atom.

 A primitive cell is one, which has got the points or atoms only at the corners of the unit cell.
 If a unit cell consists of more than one atom, then it is not a primitive cell.
o Example for primitive cell: Simple Cubic unit cell
o Examples for non-primitive cell: BCC and FCC unit cell

Primitive cells are drawn with lattice points at all corners, and each primitive cell contains the
equivalent of one atom.
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For instance, a simple cubic unit cell has an atom at each corner. However, at any of these given corners,
this atom must be shared with seven other identical cubes which fill the volume surrounding this point.

Thus there is effectively only 1/8 of the atom which can be assigned to that particular unit cell. Since
there are eight corners in a cube, there is the equivalent of one atom, and thus the primitive cell and
unit cell coincide.

Packing Fraction
It is defined as the ratio of the volume of the unit cell that is occupied by the spheres to the volume of
the unit cell.
i. Primitive cubic unit cell Atoms touch each other along edges.
Hence, d = a or r = a/2
(r = radius of atom and a = edge length)

Therefore: PF = 4/3 πr3/(2r)3 = 0.524 or 52.4%

ii. Face centered cubic unit cell Atoms touch each other along the face diagonal.
Hence, d = a/√2 or r = √2a/4

Therefore: PF = 4  (4/3 πr3)/(4r/√2)3 = 0.74 or 74%

iii. Body centered cubic unit cell Atoms touch each other along the body diagonal.
Hence, d = √3a/2 or r = √3a/4

Therefore: PF = 2  (4/3 πr3)/(4r/√3)3 = 0.68 or 68%

III. METALLIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURES

Most elemental metals (about 90%) crystallize upon solidification into three densely packed crystal
structures:
1. face-centered cubic (FCC)
2. body-centered cubic (BCC)
3. hexagonal close-packed (HCP)
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Table 1 Atomic Radii and Crystal Structures for 16 Metals

(Adopted from Ref 1)

A. The Face-Centered Cubic Crystal Structure

The crystal structure found for many metals has a unit cell of cubic geometry, with atoms located at
each of the corners and the centers of all the cube faces. It is aptly called the face-centered cubic
(FCC) crystal structure.
 Close packed directions are face diagonals.

(a) (b)
Figure 6 For the face-centered cubic crystal structure, (a) a hard-sphere unit
cell representation, (b) a reduced sphere unit cell
(Adopted from Ref 1)

 The cell is composed of the volume of the cube that is generated from the centers of the corner
atoms

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 (Unit cell edge length for face-centered cubic) (1)

Proof:
In the FCC unit cell illustrated, the atoms touch one another across a face-diagonal, the length of
which is 4R. Because the unit cell is a cube, its volume is a3, where a is the cell edge length. From
the right triangle on the face,

a2 + a2 = (4R)2
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Solving for a: a  2R 2

Number of atoms associated with each unit cell

Depending on an atom’s location, it may be considered to be shared with adjacent unit cells – that is,
only 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:

Nf Nc
N = Ni + + (2)
2 8

where:
Ni = the number of interior atoms
Nf = the number of face atoms
Nc = the number of corner atoms

For the FCC crystal structure, there are eight corner atoms (Nc = 8), six face atoms (Nf = 6), and no
interior atoms (Ni = 0). Thus,

N=4 (or a total of four whole atoms may be assigned to a given unit cell)

Coordination number (CN)

It is defined as the number of particles immediately adjacent to each particle in the crystal lattice.
 The points in a Bravais lattice that are closest to a given point are called its nearest neighbors.
 Because of the periodic nature of a Bravais lattice, each point has the same number of nearest
neighbors.

For metals, each atom has the same number of nearest-neighbor or touching atoms, which is the
coordination number.

For face-centered cubics: CN = 12

Figure 5a: the front face atom has four corner nearest-neighbor atoms surrounding it,
four face atoms that are in contact from behind, and
four other equivalent face atoms residing in the next unit cell to the front (not shown).
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Atomic packing factor (APF)

The APF 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 – that is,

volume of atom in a unit cell

APF = (3)
total unit cell volume

Determination of FCC Unit Cell Volume

The FCC unit cell volume VC may be computed from
 
3
VC  a3  2R 2  16 R3 2

Computation of the Atomic Packing Factor for FCC

volume of atom in a unit cell VS
APF = 
total unit cell volume VC

Both the total atom and unit cell volumes may be calculated in terms of the atomic radius R. The volume
for a sphere is (4/3)R3, and because there are four atoms per FCC unit cell, the total FCC atom (or
sphere) volume is
4 16
VS   atoms/unit cell  volume/atom    4   R 3   R 3
3 3

 
3
VC  a3  2R 2  16 R3 2

Therefore,
 16  3
  R
VS  3 
APF =   0.74
VC 16 R 3 2

Metals typically have relatively large atomic packing factors to maximize the shielding provided by the
free electron cloud.

B. The Body-Centered Cubic Crystal Structure

- common metallic crystal structure with a cubic unit cell with atoms located at all eight corners
and a single atom at the cube center

Figure 7 For the 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
(Adopted from Ref 1)

Center and corner atoms touch one another along cube diagonals, and unit cell length a and atomic
radius R are related through
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Engr. Caesar Pobre Llapitan

4R
a (Unit cell edge length for body-centered cubic) (4)
3

Each BCC unit cell has eight corner atoms and a single center atom, which is wholly contained within
its cell; therefore, the number of atoms per BCC unit cell is

Nf Nc
N = Ni + +
2 8
8
10 2
8

The coordination number for the BCC crystal structure is 8; each center atom has as nearest neighbors
its eight corner atoms. Because the coordination number is less for BCC than for FCC, the atomic
packing factor is also lower for BCC- 0.68 versus 0.74

C. Simple Cubic (SC) Crystal Structure

It is also possible to have a unit cell that consists of atoms situated only at the corners of a cube. This
is called the simple cubic (SC) crystal structure; hard-sphere and reduced-sphere models are shown,
respectively, in Figures 7a and 7b.

None of the metallic elements have this crystal structure because of its relatively low atomic packing
Factor. The only simple-cubic element is polonium, which is considered to be a metalloid (or semi-
metal).

Figure 8 For the simple cubic crystal structure, (a) a hard-sphere unit cell, and
(b) a reduced-sphere unit cell
(Adopted from Ref 1)

 Close-packed directions are cube edges

 Coordination number = 6 (number of nearest neighbors)
 Number of atoms per unit cell = 1 atom
 APF for a simple cubic structure
4
 1    0.5 a 
3

V 3
APF = S   0.52
VC a3

D. The Hexagonal Close-Packed Crystal Structure

 unit cells with no cubic symmetry
- The top and bottom faces of the unit cell consist of six atoms that form regular hexagons
and surround a single atom in the center.
- Another plane that provides three additional atoms to the unit cell is situated between the
top and bottom planes.
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Engr. Caesar Pobre Llapitan

- The atoms in this mid-plane have as nearest neighbor’s atoms in both of the adjacent two
planes.

Number of atoms per unit cell for the HCP crystal structure:

Nf Nc
N = Ni + + (5)
2 6

That is, one-sixth of each corner atom is assigned to a unit cell (instead of 8 as with the cubic structure).
Because for HCP there are 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 mid-plane interior
atoms, the value of N for HCP is found to be

Nf Nc 2 12
N = Ni + + 3  6 (6 atoms are assigned to each unit cell)
2 6 2 6

Figure 9 For 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.
(Adopted from Ref 1)

If a and c represent, respectively, the short and long unit cell dimensions of Figure 9a, the c/a ratio
should be 1.633; however, for some HCP metals, this ratio deviates from the ideal value.

The coordination number and the atomic packing factor for the HCP crystal structure are the same as
for FCC: 12 and 0.74, respectively.

Example Problem Determination of HCP Unit Cell Volume

a. Calculate the volume of an HCP unit cell in terms of its a and c lattice parameters.
b. Now provide an expression for this volume in terms of the atomic radius, R, and the c lattice
parameter.

Solution:
a. Unit cell volume = VC = base area  the cell height, c

Base area = three  the area of the parallelepiped ACDE.

area of ACDE = CD  BC
CD = a
BC = a cos 300 = a3/2
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Base area = 3 (CD) (BC) = 3a23/2

VC = 3a2c3/2

b. Lattice parameter a is related to the atomic radius R as

A = 2R

Therefore,
3  2R  c 3
2

VC   6 R2 c 3
2

IV. DENSITY COMPUTATIONS

A knowledge of the crystal structure of a metallic solid permits computation of its theoretical density 
through the relationship

nA
 (6)
VC N A

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  1023 atoms/mol)

Example 1 Theoretical Density Computation for Copper

Copper has an atomic radius of 0.128 nm, an FCC crystal structure, and an atomic weight of 63.5
g/mol. Compute its theoretical density, and compare the answer with its measured density.

Solution
crystal structure is FCC n, the number of atoms per unit cell = 4

ACu = 63.5 g/mol R, the atomic radius = 0.128 nm

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VC  16 R3 2

Therefore


nA

nA

 4 atoms/unit cell  63.5 g/mol 
VC N A  3


16 R 2 N A  16 2  1.28  10 8 cm  /unit cell   6.022  10 23 atoms/mol 
3


 8.89 g/cm 3

The literature value for the density of copper is 8.94 g/cm3, which is in very close agreement with the
foregoing result.

Example 2
Rhodium has an atomic radius of 0.1345nm (1.345A) and a density of 12.41 g/cm3. Determine whether
it has a BCC or FCC crystal structure. Rh (A = 102.91 g/mol)

Solution
nA VC a3 A
   
VC N A n n NA

a3 102.91 g/mol

n  12.41 g/cm 3  6.022  1023 atoms/mol 
 1.3768  10 23 cm 3  0.01376 nm 3

If rhodium is BCC: n = 2 and a3 = (4r/3)3 = 12.316 r3

a3 12.31   0.1345 nm 
3

  0.0149 nm 3
n 2

If rhodium is FCC: n = 4 and a3 = (4r/2)3 = 22.627 r3

a3 22.627   0.1345 nm 
3

  0.01376 nm 3
n 4

Therefore, rhodium has a FCC structure

Example 3
Calculate the radius of an iridium atom given that Ir has an FCC crystal structure, a density of 22.4
g/cm3, and an atomic weight of 192.2 g/mol.

Solution
We are asked to determine the radius of an iridium atom, given that Ir has an FCC crystal
structure.

For FCC: n = 4 atoms/unit cell

VC  16 R3 2 (a)
nAIr nAIr
  VC  (b)
VC N A NA
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And solving for R from the above two expressions yields

1/3
 nAIr 
R   
 16  N A 2 
1/3
  4 atoms/unit cell  192.2 g/mol  
 
 2  16   22.4 g/cm  6.023  10 atoms/mol  
3 23

 1.36  10 8 cm = 0.136 nm

Example 4
Zirconium has an HCP crystal structure and a density of 6.51 g/cm3.
a. What is the volume of its unit cell in cubic meters?
b. If the c/a ratio is 1.593, compute the values of c and a.

Solution
a. The volume of the Zr unit cell may be computed using
nA
VC  Zr
NA

Now, for HCP, n = 6 atoms/unit cell and AZr = 91.2 g/mol

Thus,

VC 
 6 atoms/unit cell  91.2 g/mol 
 6.51g/cm 6.023  10
3 23
atoms/mol 
 1.396  10 22 cm 3 /unit cell = 1.396  10 28 m 3 /unit cell

b. Since a = 2R, then, for HCP

3 3 a2 c
VC 
2

but, since c = 1.593a

3 3  1.593 
3

VC   1.396  10 22 cm 3 /unit cell

2

Now, solving for a

  2   1.396  10 22 cm 3  
1/3

a 
 3 3  1.593  
 3.23  10 8 cm = 0.323 nm

And finally
c  1.593a   1.593  0.323 nm  = 0.515 nm

Example 5
The unit cell for tin has tetragonal symmetry, with a and b lattice parameters of 0.583 and 0.318 nm,
respectively. If its density, atomic weight, and atomic radius are 7.30 g/cm3, 118.69 g/mol, and 0.151
nm, respectively, compute the atomic packing factor.
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Engr. Caesar Pobre Llapitan

Solution
In order to determine the APF for Sn, we need to compute both the unit cell volume (VC) which is
just the a2c product, as well as the total sphere volume (VS) which is just the product of the
volume of a single sphere and the number of spheres in the unit cell (n). The value of n may be
calculated from Equation
 7.30  5.83   3.18   10 24  6.023  1023 
2
VC N A
n 
ASn 118.69
 4.00 atoms/unit cell

Therefore
4 
4   R3 
APC  S   2 
V 3
VC ac
4 3
4    0.151  
  
3
 0.583   0.318 
2

 0.534

Miscellaneous Problems
1. Iron has a BCC crystal structure, an atomic radius of 0.124 nm, and an atomic weight of 55.85
g/mol. Compute and compare its density with the experimental value.
2. Calculate the radius of a vanadium atom, given that V has a BCC crystal structure, a density of
5.96 g/cm3, and an atomic weight of 50.9 g/mol.
3. Some hypothetical metal has the simple cubic crystal structure shown in Figure. If its atomic
weight is 70.4 g/mol and the atomic radius is 0.126 nm, compute its density.
4. Using atomic weight, crystal structure, and atomic radius data, compute the theoretical
densities of lead, chromium, copper, and cobalt, and then compare these values with the
measured densities listed in this same table. The c/a ratio for cobalt is 1.623.
0
5. Rhodium has an atomic radius of 0.1345 nm (1.345 A ) and a density of 12.41 g/cm3. Determine
whether it has an FCC or BCC crystal structure.
6. Below are listed the atomic weight, density, and atomic radius for three hypothetical alloys. For
each determine whether its crystal structure is FCC, BCC, or simple cubic and then justify your
determination. A simple cubic unit cell is shown in Figure.

Atomic Weight Density Atomic Radius

Alloy
(g/mol) (g/cm3) (nm)
A 77.4 8.22 0.125
B 107.6 13.42 0.133
C 127.3 9.23 0.142

Figure: Hard-sphere unit cell representation of the simple cubic crystal structure

7. Iodine has an orthorhombic unit cell for which the a, b, and c lattice parameters are 0.479, 0.725,
and 0.978 nm, respectively.
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Engr. Caesar Pobre Llapitan

a. If the atomic packing factor and atomic radius are 0.547 and 0.177 nm, respectively,
determine the number of atoms in each unit cell.
b. The atomic weight of iodine is 126.91 g/mol; compute its density.
8. Rhenium has an HCP crystal structure, an atomic radius of 0.137 nm, and a c/a ratio of 1.615.
Compute the volume of the unit cell for Re.

V. POLYMORPHISM AND ALLOTROPY

Many elements or compounds exist in more than one crystalline form under different conditions of
temperature and pressure. This phenomenon is termed polymorphism and if the material is an
elemental solid is called allotropy.

Example: Iron (Fe: Z = 26)

liquid above 1539 C.
δ-iron (BCC) between 1394 and 1539 0C.
γ-iron (FCC) between 912 and 1394 0C.
α-iron (BCC) between -273 and 912 0C.

 iron    iron   iron 

0 0 0
912 C 1400 C 1539 C
 liquid iron
BCC FCC BCC

Another example of allotropy is carbon.

 Pure, solid carbon occurs in three crystalline forms – diamond (C, Si, Ge, Sn); graphite; and
large, hollow fullerenes.
 Two kinds of fullerenes are: buckminsterfullerene (buckyball) and carbon nanotube.

VI. CRYSTAL SYSTEMS

 A three dimensional space lattice is generated by repeated translation of three translational

vectors a, b and c.
 Crystals are grouped under seven systems on the basis of the shape of the unit cell.
 The seven crystal systems are distinguished from one another by their lattice parameters.
 Lecture Notes 3A – Basic Concepts of Crystal Structure 18
Engr. Caesar Pobre Llapitan

System Parameters Interaxial Angles Unit Cell Geometry

Triclinic abc 

Monoclinic abc =  = 900  

Orthorhombic abc ==

Tetragonal a=bc ==

Cubic a=b=c  =  =  = 900

Hexagonal a=bc  =  = 900,  = 1200

Rhombohedral a=b=c  =  =   900

 Lecture Notes 3A – Basic Concepts of Crystal Structure 19
Engr. Caesar Pobre Llapitan

The space lattices formed by unit cells are marked by the following symbols.
 Primitive lattice: P  having lattice points only at the corners of the unit cell.
 Body centered lattice: I  having lattice points at the corners as well as at the body center of
the unit cell.
 Face centered lattice :F  having lattice points at the corners as well as at the face centers of the
unit cell.
 Base centered lattice: C  having lattice points at the corners as well as at the top and bottom
base centers of the unit cell.

Bravais System
Crystal System Shape of Unit Cell
P I F C
1 Triclinic Parallopiped (general) 

2 Monoclinic Parallogramic prism  

3 Orthorhombic Rectangular prism (general height)    

4 Tetragonal Square prism (general height)  

5 Cubic Cube   

6 Hexagonal 1200 Rhombic prism 

7 Trigonall Parallopiped (equilateral, equiangular) 

References:
[1] Callister , William D., Jr. and David G. Rethwisch (2014). Materials Science and Engineering –
An Introduction, (9th edition). USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

[2]Askeland, Donald R, Pradeep P. Fulay and Wendelin J. Wright (2010). The Science and
Engineering of Materials, (6th ed). USA: Cengage Learning