Studies of clays and clay minerals using x-ray powder diffraction and the Rietveld method
The Rietveld method was originally developed (Rietveld, 1967, 1969) to refine crystal structures using neutron powder diffraction data. Since then, the method has been increasingly used with X-ray powder diffraction data, and today it is safe to say that this is the most common application of the method. The method has been applied to numerous natural and synthetic materials, most of which do not usually form crystals large enough for study with single-crystal techniques. It is the ability to study the structures of materials for which sufficiently large single crystals do not exist that makes the method so powerful and popular. It would thus appear that the method is ideal for studying clays and clay minerals. In many cases this is true, but the assumptions implicit in the method and the disordered nature of many clay minerals can limit titsapplicability. This chapter will describe the Rietveld method, emphasizing the assumptions important for the study of disordered materials, and it will outline the potential applications of the method to these minerals. These applications include, in addition to the refinement of crystal structures, quantitative analysis of multicomponent mixtures, analysis of peak broadening, partial structure solution, and refinement of unit-cell parameters.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 10192067
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-93-2660; CONF-9309232-1; ON: DE93040194; TRN: 93:023887
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Clay Minerals Society meeting on computer applications in clay mineralogy,San Diego, CA (United States),25 Sep 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1993]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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