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The crystal structure of the Ni0.5TiSe2 compound has been studied in situ in the temperature range of 25–1000 °C using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction. The previously known order–disorder transition in the Ni sublattice at ∼100 °C was found to be a second-order phase transition and belongs to the 3D Ising universality class. Reversible extraction of nickel selenides was observed in the temperature range of 275–975 °C. It was explained in terms of Ni extraction from Ni0.5TiSe2 due to the thermal widening of the Ni 3d/Ti 3d/Se 4p impurity band. The Ni–TiSe2 phase diagram follows the typical pattern of MxTiSe2 (M – transition metal) compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phase diagram of the quasi-binary Cu-TiS2 system has been studied in situ in the temperature-concentration plane for the first time. Phase transitions between 2D (layered) and 3D (cubic) phases in CuxTiS2 (x = 0-0.5) intercalation compounds have been studied by the X-ray diffraction technique in the temperature range 20-1000 °C. It has been found that the stability of the layered phase is determined by the distribution of copper atoms between the octahedral and tetrahedral crystallographic sites. The occupation of octahedral sites dominates at low temperatures. Upon heating, tetrahedral site occupation is limited due to elastic lattice distortion and the layered phase becomes unstable and transforms to the spinel. Further heating allows the distribution of copper between octahedral and tetrahedral sites; the layered phase becomes stable again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal stability of the layered modification of the Cu0.5ZrTe2 polycrystalline intercalation compound, synthesized at room temperature, has been studied in the temperature range 25–900 °C. A change in the occupation of the octahedral and tetrahedral coordinated sites in the interlayer space of the zirconium ditelluride was observed using in‐situ time‐resolved synchrotron X‐ray powder diffraction experiments. The formation of the rhombohedral CuZr2Te4 phase, which is stable in the temperature range 300–700 °C, has been observed. The copper intercalation at room temperature leads to the formation of a phase in which the Cu atoms occupy only octahedral sites in the interlayer space. At temperatures above the decay temperature of the rhombohedral CuZr2Te4, a layered phase with Cu atoms uniformly distributed between octahedral and tetrahedral sites in the interlayer space is stable. The changes in the crystal structure independent of temperature are in agreement with the previously proposed model, according to which the stability of the layered or the rhombohedral phase is determined by the entropy factor associated with the distribution of the intercalated atoms between the octahedral and tetrahedral sites in the interlayer space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synchrotron powder diffraction experiment, especially designed to shed light on the controversial problem of the crystal structure of 0.96(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 - 0.04BaTiO3, is reported. The investigated material is a key component of the current international search for lead-free ferro-piezoelectrics. A wide angular range diffraction pattern was measured in high resolution configuration, with emphasis on trustable counting stastistics in the high-Q interval. Cc and R3c structural models were tried as primary phases. The obtained experimental results are incompatible with the monoclinic model and clearly favor the rhombohedral symmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) plays a key role in biomineralisation processes in sea organisms. Neutron and X-ray diffraction have been performed for a sample of magnesium-stabilised ACC, which was prepared with a Mg:Ca ratio of 0.05:1 and 0.25 H2O molecules per molecule of CO3. The empirical potential structure refinement method has been used to make a model of magnesium-stabilised ACC and the results revealed a fair agreement with the experimental diffraction data. The model has well-defined CO3 and H2O molecules. The average coordination number of Ca is 7.4 and is composed of 6.8 oxygen atoms from CO3 molecules and 0.6 oxygen atoms from H2O molecules. The average CaO bond length is 2.40 Å. The distribution of Ca in the model is homogeneous with a uniformly distributed Ca-rich network and no evidence of the Ca-poor channels as previously reported for a reverse Monte Carlo model of ACC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structure of the Ni 0.5 TiSe 2 compound has been studied in situ in the temperature range of 25-1000 °C using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction. The previously known order-disorder transition in the Ni sublattice at ∼100 °C was found to be a second-order phase transition and belongs to the 3D Ising universality class. Reversible extraction of nickel selenides was observed in the temperature range of 275-975 °C. It was explained in terms of Ni extraction from Ni 0.5 TiSe 2 due to the thermal widening of the Ni 3d/Ti 3d/Se 4p impurity band. The Ni-TiSe 2 phase diagram follows the typical pattern of M x TiSe 2 (M - transition metal) compounds.

The thermal stability of the layered modification of the Cu 0.5 ZrTe 2 polycrystalline intercalation compound, synthesized at room temperature, has been studied in the temperature range 25-900 °C. A change in the occupation of the octahedral and tetrahedral coordinated sites in the interlayer space of the zirconium ditelluride was observed using in-situ time-resolved synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction experiments. The formation of the rhombohedral CuZr 2 Te 4 phase, which is stable in the temperature range 300-700 °C, has been observed. The copper intercalation at room temperature leads to the formation of a phase in which the Cu atoms occupy only octahedral sites in the interlayer space. At temperatures above the decay temperature of the rhombohedral CuZr 2 Te 4 , a layered phase with Cu atoms uniformly distributed between octahedral and tetrahedral sites in the interlayer space is stable. The changes in the crystal structure independent of temperature are in agreement with the previously proposed model, according to which the stability of the layered or the rhombohedral phase is determined by the entropy factor associated with the distribution of the intercalated atoms between the octahedral and tetrahedral sites in the interlayer space.

The phase diagram of the quasi-binary Cu-TiS 2 system has been studied in situ in the temperature-concentration plane for the first time. Phase transitions between 2D (layered) and 3D (cubic) phases in Cu x TiS 2 (x = 0-0.5) intercalation compounds have been studied by the X-ray diffraction technique in the temperature range 20-1000 °C. It has been found that the stability of the layered phase is determined by the distribution of copper atoms between the octahedral and tetrahedral crystallographic sites. The occupation of octahedral sites dominates at low temperatures. Upon heating, tetrahedral site occupation is limited due to elastic lattice distortion and the layered phase becomes unstable and transforms to the spinel. Further heating allows the distribution of copper between octahedral and tetrahedral sites; the layered phase becomes stable again.

Cyclops is a new computer program designed as a graphical front-end that allows easy control and interaction with tasks and programs for 3D reconstruction of biological complexes using cryo-electron microscopy. Cyclops' current plug-ins are designed for automated particle picking and include two new algorithms, automated carbon masking and quaternion based rotation space sampling, which are also presented here. Additional plug-ins are in the pipeline. Cyclops allows straightforward organization and visualization of all data and tasks and allows both interactive and batch-wise processing. Furthermore, it was designed for straightforward implementation in grid architectures. As a front-end to a collection of programs it provides a common interface to these programs, thus enhancing the usability of the suite and the productivity of the user.

We here present TYSON, a new program for automatic and semi-automatic particle selection from electron micrographs. TYSON employs a three-step strategy of searching, sorting and selecting single particles. In the first step, TYSON finds the positions of potential particles by one of three different methods: local averaging, template matching or local variance. The practical merits and drawbacks of these methods are discussed. In the second step, these potential particles are automatically sorted according to their probability of being true positives. Many criteria are provided for this sort. In the final -interactive- step, whole categories of poorly fitting false positives can be removed with a single mouse-click. We present results obtained using cryo-EM micrographs of both spherical virus particles and asymmetric particles. The procedures are fast and use of TYSON allowed, for example, some 20,000 particles to be selected in a single working day.