Alignment of Powder Crystallites Under High Magnetic Field

Abstract

A large size single crystal is required for the crystallographic analyses by diffractometry. However, it is often difficult to obtain a large one; we just obtain a powder sample. We have recently developed a novel magnetic technique that enables alteration of powder crystallites to a pseudo-single crystal (PSC). Magnetic alignment of feeble magnetic materials including organic, polymeric, and inorganic materials is well known for many years. However, the alignment was limited so far to a uniaxial one: only the easy or hard magnetization axis is aligned uniaxially. The uniaxial alignment is not sufficient for crystallographic analyses by diffractometry. It only provides a fiber pattern. With our novel technique, powder crystallites belonging to the biaxial crystal system are aligned biaxially to form a PSC that gives rise to an X-ray diffraction pattern equivalent to the real single crystal.