In: Chemistry
What's the importance of X-ray crystallography in inorganic chemistry?
X-ray crystallography is a technique which analyzes the crystal structures of compounds with the application of X-rays.
The arrangement og atoms in crystals is such that it diffracts the incident X-rays with different angles and intensities.
Measurement of these intensities and angles reveals the electronic arranegement within the crystal, which in turn helps to determine the atomic arrangement in 3-D space.
This technique has widespread use in inorganic chemistry, and is typically used in determining the molecular structures of unknown compounds which form crystals.
This technique also has been helpful in determining the bond lengths, and the non-covalet interactions in compounds. The technique has been successfully used to discover the tetrahedral and octahedral bonding in compounds, and also in determining the presence of resonance effect.
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