Rotation axes principal

Silicon carbide (carborundum, SiC) is of especial interest on account of its rich polymorphism, no fewer than six structures being known. As is to be expected, each carbon and silicon atom is tetra-hedrally co-ordinated by four atoms of the other kind, and two of the forms of carborundum have the zincblende and wurtzite structures. The close relationship between these two structures has already been discussed ( 4.13), and is emphasized by the many AX compounds (including ZnS itself) in which both are found. It is illustrated in fig. 8.03, where the cubic zincblende structure has been drawn with one of the cube diagonals vertical and parallel to the principal axis of the wurtzite structure. When viewed in this way it will be seen that both structures can be visualized as formed by the superposition of a series of puckered sheets of atoms, but that in zincblende successive sheets are identical (albeit translated) whereas in wurtzite they differ and are related by a rotation through 180° about the principal axis. In the two structures the sequence of sheets can therefore be symbolized as... 

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