Fundamentals of X-ray crystallography

This chapter provides a background on the technique of structure determination through X-ray crystallography and discusses its importance in the context of modern chemistry. It explains the basis of X-ray crystallography through an optical analogy that outlines the main relevant properties of crystalline materials and aspects of symmetry. It also examines the properties of the diffraction pattern of a single-crystal in relation to features of interest in the crystal structure. The chapter covers the geometry of diffraction, symmetry observed in the pattern, and the variation of intensity in the discrete diffraction measurements. It cites available sources of X-rays for crystallography.