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Structure beyond pair correlations: X‐ray cross‐correlation from colloidal crystals
Author(s) -
Lehmkühler Felix,
Fischer Birgit,
Müller Leonard,
Ruta Beatrice,
Grübel Gerhard
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied crystallography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.429
H-Index - 162
ISSN - 1600-5767
DOI - 10.1107/s1600576716017313
Subject(s) - structure factor , colloid , crystallography , colloidal crystal , dispersity , crystal (programming language) , crystal structure , chemical physics , materials science , resolution (logic) , chemistry , computer science , artificial intelligence , polymer chemistry , programming language
The results of an X‐ray cross‐correlation analysis (XCCA) study on hard‐sphere colloidal crystals and glasses are presented. The article shows that cross‐correlation functions can be used to extract structural information beyond the static structure factor in such systems. In particular, the powder average can be overcome by accessing the crystals' unit‐cell structure. In this case, the results suggest that the crystal is of face‐centered cubic type. It is demonstrated that XCCA is a valuable tool for X‐ray crystallography, in particular for studies on colloidal systems. These are typically characterized by a rather poor crystalline quality due to size polydispersity and limitations in experimental resolution because of the small q values probed. Furthermore, nontrivial correlations are observed that allow a more detailed insight into crystal structures beyond conventional crystallography, especially to extend knowledge in structure formation processes and phase transitions.