X-Ray Diffraction Facilities

The department has a Siemans P4 single crystal X-ray diffractometer that students routinely use for the structural characterization of compounds. The system consists of a four circle diffractometer operated by a networked PC, a low-temperature cryostat for collecting data at subambient temperatures, and a variety of input/output devices. The molecular structures are solved on the Silicon Graphics workstation using the SHELXTL structure determination software package. This facility provides the capability of determining very precise molecular geometries for organic, inorganic, and organometallic molecules. The nearby Department of Geology has a Scintag powder diffractometer for the acquisition of powder diffraction data.

For more information about the Chemistry Department's X-Ray facility, please see Dr. Arulsamy's X-Ray page.