Advances made over the past decade in structure determination from powder diffraction data are reviewed with particular emphasis on algorithmic developments and the successes and limitations of the technique. While global optimization methods have been successful in the solution of molecular crystal structures, new methods are required to make the solution of inorganic crystal structures more r...

We perform an extensive study of Sr_{3}Cr_{2}O_{7}, the n=2 member of the Ruddlesden-Popper Sr_{n+1}Cr_{n}O_{3n+1} system. An antiferromagnetic ordering is clearly visible in the magnetization and the specific heat, which yields a huge transition entropy, Rln(6). By neutron diffraction as a function of temperature we have determined the antiferromagnetic structure that coincides with the one ob...

The commensurate and incommensurate magnetic structures of the magnetoelectric system YMn2O5, as determined from neutron diffraction, were found to be spin-density waves lacking a global center of symmetry. We propose a model, based on a simple magnetoelastic coupling to the lattice, which enables us to predict the polarization based entirely on the observed magnetic structure. Our data accurat...

X-ray, neutron and electron diffraction methods are widely used for the investigation of crystals. Each of these techniques has their own advantages in terms of element sensitivity, sample size requirements etc. and are chosen accordingly for structure determinations. A less obvious difference lies in the spatial resolution of these diffraction techniques. Here, we show that electron diffractio...

The floating-zone method with different growth ambiences has been used to selectively obtain hexagonal or orthorhombic DyMnO(3) single crystals. The crystals were characterized by x-ray powder diffraction of ground specimens and a structure refinement as well as electron diffraction. We report magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and specific heat studies of this multiferroic compound in both...

We present a detailed study of magnetism in LuFe(2)O(4), combining magnetization measurements with neutron and soft x-ray diffraction. The magnetic phase diagram in the vicinity of T(N) involves a metamagnetic transition separating an antiferro- and a ferrimagnetic phase. For both phases the spin structure is refined by neutron diffraction. Observed diffuse magnetic scattering far above T(N) is...

For large-grained samples it is advantageous to perform pairs of neutron diffraction measurements at the same spatial location but rotated 180° around the geometric centre of the gauge volume as a means of minimizing the scatter coming from the random positioning of grains within the gauge volume.

CoSeO(4) has a structure consisting of edge-sharing chains of Co(2+) octahedra which are held together by SeO(4)(2-) tetrahedra via shared oxygen atoms at the edges of the octahedra. DC magnetization measurements indicate a transition to an ordered state below 30 K. Powder neutron diffraction refinements suggest an ordered state with two unique antiferromagnetic chains within the unit cell. Iso...

Using neutron diffraction and the isotopic substitution technique we have investigated the local structure of liquid chloroform. A strong tendency for polar stacking of molecules with collinear alignment of dipole moments is found. We speculate that these polar stacks contribute to the performance of chloroform as a solvent.