ISSN: 1546-962X
Published Online: 30 August 2006
Page Count: 10

The Monitoring of Crystallite Size By an X-Ray Method Applicable to the Processing and Synthesis of Micron-Sized Powders

Johnson, LA
Senior ScientistAdjunct Professor, Reaction Sciences, Inc.Raritan Valley Community College, Long BranchNorth Branch,NJNJ

McCauley, RA
Professor, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway,NJ

(Received 17 October 2005; accepted 26 June 2006)

Abstract

An X-ray method for determining the crystallite size of powders is presented that aids in a quick monitoring of powder processing and synthesis of micron-sized powders. The method is helpful in the range of tens of microns to micron sizes. The excellent counting statistics of the X-ray method compares favorably over microscopic methods in its efficiency and ability to characterize the powder in terms of its crystallite size. An albite (NaAlSi₃O₈) powder that originally showed a distribution of grain sizes was ball milled to a uniform micron size and micron-sized forsterite (Mg₂SiO₄) was synthesized by a solid-state method using ball milling for mixing of reactants.

Keywords:
crystallite size measurement, X-ray diffraction, ball milling, albite, forsterite

Paper ID: JAI100275
DOI: 10.1520/JAI100275
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