Question

For the single crystal X-ray diffraction studies what is the length of the diameter that a single crystal should have?

(a) 5mm

(b) 5m

(c) 100mm

(d) 0.05mm

I had been asked this question in an interview for job.

My question comes from Survey of Techniques and their Applications to Solids topic in section Preparative Methods of Solid State Chemistry

Answer 1

The correct choice is (d) 0.05mm

The explanation is: For the single crystal X-ray diffraction studies, it is necessary to have crystals that are at least 0.05 mm in diameter. Otherwise, the intensities of the diffracted beams are too weak to be detected clearly. This is because the efficiency with which X-rays are diffracted is very low.