Crystal structures determination by x-ray diffraction

Kinematical diffraction Diffraction theory in which it is assumed that the incident beam only undergoes simple diffraction on its passage through the crystal. No further diffraction occurs that would change the beam direction after the first diffraction event. This type of diffraction is assumed in most crystal structure determinations by X-ray diffraction. Kinematical theory is well applicable to highly imperfect crystals made up of small mosaic blocks. 

Very recently, these methods have resulted in the first crystal structure determination by X-ray diffraction of an integral membrane protein, the photosynthetic reaction centre of Rps. viridis [265]. 

Metal-phosphorus coordination complexes provide many elegant illustrations of the varied stereochemical requirements of the different metallic elements. Known compounds number many thousands, and a considerable number of these have had their detailed crystal structures determined by x-ray diffraction methods. In addition there is a vast literature of infra-red and NMR data on these complexes. 

Although in this section we have focused on problems that can be encountered in single-crystal structure determination by X-ray diffraction, and it is important to be aware of such problems, in the majority of cases the method is straightforward and problems are fortunately exceptions rather than the rule. Of all the... 

The first chemical compound to have its crystal structure determined by X-ray diffraction was NaCl (rock salt). The author of the study, which was published in 1913, was a young man of 23 years, William L. Bragg [7]. Two years later, he and his father, W. H. Bragg, shared the Nobel Prize in physics. 

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