LOW-TEMPERATURE POWDER DIFFRACTION STUDIES USING SYNCHROTRON RADIATION

The use of high-resolution powder diffraction with synchrotron radiation to study phase transitions at low temperature is illustrated by reference to some preliminary work carried out using the diffractometer 8.3 at Daresbury Laboratory. The high quality of the data collected leads to rapid and unambiguous indexing of the diffraction patterns of low-temperature phases. Structure solution and structure refinement are also possible using data collected by this method. The examples discussed are the low temperature phases of norbornane, KPF6, (ND4)2PtBr6 and Ni(NH3)6I2.