Strength-in-numbers X-ray technique can map previously unattainable atomic structures
For many decades, the method to obtain atomic-level descriptions of chemical compounds and materials—be it a drug, a catalyst, or a commodity chemical—has been X-ray crystallography. This method has a known weakness: it requires one single, high-quality and large enough crystal to study. Scientists...
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For many decades, the method to obtain atomic-level descriptions of chemical compounds and materials—be it a drug, a catalyst, or a commodity chemical—has been X-ray crystallography. This method has a known weakness: it requires one single, high-quality and large enough crystal to study. Scientists often couldn't determine a new substance's structure if it only existed as microscopic dust or was too fragile for X-ray beams.
Originally published at Phys.org
