Training Structure
Joint Continuing Education Office, Montpellier-Sète University Institute of Technology (IUT)
Overview
This short training course is divided into 3 tracks corresponding to 3 available training levels. One or more tracks may be taken during the same training session:
- Beginner Level: Fundamental Concepts and Techniques Related to Powder X-Ray Diffraction and Compound Identification
- Intermediate Level: Fundamental Concepts and Techniques for Extracting Structural Parameters
- Advanced Level: Structural Determination and Application to Different Types of Solids (Organic, Inorganic, and Hybrid)
Objectives
- Perform X-ray diffraction measurements on inorganic, organic, or hybrid compounds in powder form
- Analyze a powder X-ray diffractogram (qualitative, (semi)quantitative)
- Extract mesh parameters, determine the space group, and perform a refinement using the Le Bail method
- Establish structural models and refine them using the Rietveld method
Program
Comprehensive training: 45 hours (6 days)
Level-based training: 15 hours (2 days)
The program can be tailored to the trainees' needs. The solutions explored during the hands-on exercises may be based on real-world cases proposed by the trainees prior to the training.
BEGINNER LEVEL: 2 DAYS (15 hours)
- Atoms - Matter-X-ray Interaction
- X-ray Generation for Diffraction
- X-ray Diffraction Techniques
- Review of crystallography concepts: nature of the sample (crystal, glass-ceramic, amorphous)
- Overview of a powder X-ray diffractometer using Bragg-Brentano geometry
- Sample Preparation and Data Acquisition
- Use of software for processing diffraction data (DIFRRAC.EVA) and use of existing databases (ICDD and COD).
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL: 2 DAYS (15 hours)
- Review of Crystallography Concepts
- Principle of Diffraction Pattern Measurement & the Le Bail Method
- Sample Preparation
- Acquisition (organic, inorganic, or hybrid compounds)
- Refinement of X-ray diffraction patterns for powder samples consisting of: single-phase compounds and simple mixtures using the Le Bail method
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL: 2 DAYS (15 hours)
- Review of crystallography concepts and instrumental parameters
- Principles of the Rietveld method: determination of structural models, refinement of diffractograms, and quantification of complex mixtures
Admission
Target Audience
Technicians, engineers, doctoral students.
Tuition Fees
Training fees:
- Full Course
: 2,800 € (with financial aid)
: 1,200 € (self-funded) - Training by level:
1,200 € With financial aid:
600 € Self-funded
Mandatory Prerequisites
Prerequisite: Must have completed two years of post-secondary education
Recommended work experience: in the field of solid-state chemistry