Applications of a solid-state detector on a modern single-crystal X-ray diffractometer

A structural refinement of ammonium hydrogen tartrate, C₄H₉NO₆, has been completed from data obtained on an Enraf-Nonius CAD-4 X-ray diffractometer equipped with a Si(Li) solid-state detector. The refinement has given comparable results with those found in the literature. A comparative study of a select number of weak reflections obtained from this study and from the results of an analysis using a conventional scintillation system indicates that the peak-to-background ratio is better for intensity data collected on an X-ray diffractometer using a Si(Li) solid-state detector system. An important application of a Si(Li) energy-dispersive system is X-ray fluorescence analysis which can be performed on the same single-crystal employed in X-ray diffraction data collection. Qualitative determinations and quantiative data on relative percentages of metal constituents have been obtained from single crystals of Lu(OH)₃ and Mn₃[Co(CN)₆]₂.12H₂O in less than two hours.