11.

7: Structure of Solids
 Learning Objectives
To know the characteristic properties of crystalline and amorphous solids.
To recognize the unit cell of a crystalline solid.
To calculate the density of a solid given its unit cell.

Crystalline solids have regular ordered arrays of components held together by uniform intermolecular forces, whereas the
components of amorphous solids are not arranged in regular arrays. With few exceptions, the particles that compose a solid
material, whether ionic, molecular, covalent, or metallic, are held in place by strong attractive forces between them. When we
discuss solids, therefore, we consider the positions of the atoms, molecules, or ions, which are essentially fixed in space, rather than
their motions (which are more important in liquids and gases). The constituents of a solid can be arranged in two general ways:
they can form a regular repeating three-dimensional structure called a crystal lattice, thus producing a crystalline solid, or they can
aggregate with no particular order, in which case they form an amorphous solid (from the Greek ámorphos, meaning “shapeless”).

Figure 11.7.1 : (left) Crystalline faces. The faces of crystals can intersect at right angles, as in galena (PbS) and pyrite (FeS2), or at
other angles, as in quartz. (Right) Cleavage surfaces of an amorphous solid. Obsidian, a volcanic glass with the same chemical
composition as granite (typically KAlSi3O8), tends to have curved, irregular surfaces when cleaved.
Crystalline solids, or crystals, have distinctive internal structures that in turn lead to distinctive flat surfaces, or faces. The faces
intersect at angles that are characteristic of the substance. When exposed to x-rays, each structure also produces a distinctive
pattern that can be used to identify the material. The characteristic angles do not depend on the size of the crystal; they reflect the
regular repeating arrangement of the component atoms, molecules, or ions in space. When an ionic crystal is cleaved (Figure
11.7.2, for example, repulsive interactions cause it to break along fixed planes to produce new faces that intersect at the same

angles as those in the original crystal. In a covalent solid such as a cut diamond, the angles at which the faces meet are also not
arbitrary but are determined by the arrangement of the carbon atoms in the crystal.

Figure 11.7.2 : Cleaving a Crystal of an Ionic Compound along a Plane of Ions. Deformation of the ionic crystal causes one plane
of atoms to slide along another. The resulting repulsive interactions between ions with like charges cause the layers to separate.
Crystals tend to have relatively sharp, well-defined melting points because all the component atoms, molecules, or ions are the
same distance from the same number and type of neighbors; that is, the regularity of the crystalline lattice creates local
environments that are the same. Thus the intermolecular forces holding the solid together are uniform, and the same amount of
thermal energy is needed to break every interaction simultaneously.
Amorphous solids have two characteristic properties. When cleaved or broken, they produce fragments with irregular, often curved
surfaces; and they have poorly defined patterns when exposed to x-rays because their components are not arranged in a regular
array. An amorphous, translucent solid is called a glass. Almost any substance can solidify in amorphous form if the liquid phase is

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cooled rapidly enough. Some solids, however, are intrinsically amorphous, because either their components cannot fit together well
enough to form a stable crystalline lattice or they contain impurities that disrupt the lattice. For example, although the chemical
composition and the basic structural units of a quartz crystal and quartz glass are the same—both are SiO2 and both consist of
linked SiO4 tetrahedra—the arrangements of the atoms in space are not. Crystalline quartz contains a highly ordered arrangement
of silicon and oxygen atoms, but in quartz glass the atoms are arranged almost randomly. When molten SiO2 is cooled rapidly (4
K/min), it forms quartz glass, whereas the large, perfect quartz crystals sold in mineral shops have had cooling times of thousands
of years. In contrast, aluminum crystallizes much more rapidly. Amorphous aluminum forms only when the liquid is cooled at the
extraordinary rate of 4 × 1013 K/s, which prevents the atoms from arranging themselves into a regular array.

Figure 11.7.3 : The lattice of crystalline quartz (SiO2). The atoms form a regular arrangement in a structure that consists of linked
tetrahedra.
In an amorphous solid, the local environment, including both the distances to neighboring units and the numbers of neighbors,
varies throughout the material. Different amounts of thermal energy are needed to overcome these different interactions.
Consequently, amorphous solids tend to soften slowly over a wide temperature range rather than having a well-defined melting
point like a crystalline solid. If an amorphous solid is maintained at a temperature just below its melting point for long periods of
time, the component molecules, atoms, or ions can gradually rearrange into a more highly ordered crystalline form.

Crystals have sharp, well-defined melting points; amorphous solids do not.

Crystals
Because a crystalline solid consists of repeating patterns of its components in three dimensions (a crystal lattice), we can represent
the entire crystal by drawing the structure of the smallest identical units that, when stacked together, form the crystal. This basic
repeating unit is called a unit cell. For example, the unit cell of a sheet of identical postage stamps is a single stamp, and the unit
cell of a stack of bricks is a single brick. In this section, we describe the arrangements of atoms in various unit cells.

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 Figure 11.7.4 : Unit Cells in Two Dimensions. (a–c) Three two-dimensional lattices illustrate the possible choices of the unit cell.
The unit cells differ in their relative locations or orientations within the lattice, but they are all valid choices because repeating them
in any direction fills the overall pattern of dots. (d) The triangle is not a valid unit cell because repeating it in space fills only half of
the space in the pattern.
Unit cells are easiest to visualize in two dimensions. In many cases, more than one unit cell can be used to represent a given
structure, as shown for the Escher drawing in the chapter opener and for a two-dimensional crystal lattice in Figure 11.7.4. Usually
the smallest unit cell that completely describes the order is chosen. The only requirement for a valid unit cell is that repeating it in
space must produce the regular lattice. Thus the unit cell in Figure 11.7.4d is not a valid choice because repeating it in space does
not produce the desired lattice (there are triangular holes). The concept of unit cells is extended to a three-dimensional lattice in the
schematic drawing in Figure 11.7.5.

Figure 11.7.5 : Unit Cells in Three Dimensions. These images show (a) a three-dimensional unit cell and (b) the resulting regular
three-dimensional lattice.

The Unit Cell

There are seven fundamentally different kinds of unit cells, which differ in the relative lengths of the edges and the angles between
them (Figure 11.7.6). Each unit cell has six sides, and each side is a parallelogram. We focus primarily on the cubic unit cells, in
which all sides have the same length and all angles are 90°, but the concepts that we introduce also apply to substances whose unit
cells are not cubic.

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 Figure 11.7.6 : The General Features of the Seven Basic Unit Cells. The lengths of the edges of the unit cells are indicated by a, b,
and c, and the angles are defined as follows: α, the angle between b and c; β, the angle between a and c; and γ, the angle between a
and b.
Cubic: a = b=c, alpha= beta=gamma = 90 degrees. Tetragonal: a=b, alpha = beta = gamma = 90 degrees. Orthorhombic: alpha =
beta = gamma = 90 degrees. Monoclinic: alpha = gamma = 90 degrees. Hexagonal: a = b, alpha = beta = 90 degrees, gamma = 120
degrees. Rhombohedral: a = b = c, alpha = beta= gamma. Triclinic: all different.
If the cubic unit cell consists of eight component atoms, molecules, or ions located at the corners of the cube, then it is called
simple cubic (Figure 11.7.7a). If the unit cell also contains an identical component in the center of the cube, then it is body-
centered cubic (bcc) (11.7.7b). If there are components in the center of each face in addition to those at the corners of the cube,
then the unit cell is face-centered cubic (fcc) (Figure 11.7.7c).

Figure 11.7.7 : The Three Kinds of Cubic Unit Cell. For the three kinds of cubic unit cells, simple cubic (a), body-centered cubic
(b), and face-centered cubic (c), there are three representations for each: a ball-and-stick model, a space-filling cutaway model that
shows the portion of each atom that lies within the unit cell, and an aggregate of several unit cells.
Simple cubic is made of eight quarters of spheres. Body center cubic is made of eight quarters of spheers with a shpere in the
middle. Face centered cubic is made of eight quarters of spheres and six half spheres.
As indicated in Figure 11.7.7, a solid consists of a large number of unit cells arrayed in three dimensions. Any intensive property of
the bulk material, such as its density, must therefore also be related to its unit cell. Because density is the mass of substance per unit

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volume, we can calculate the density of the bulk material from the density of a single unit cell. To do this, we need to know the size
of the unit cell (to obtain its volume), the molar mass of its components, and the number of components per unit cell. When we
count atoms or ions in a unit cell, however, those lying on a face, an edge, or a corner contribute to more than one unit cell, as
shown in Figure 11.7.7. For example, an atom that lies on a face of a unit cell is shared by two adjacent unit cells and is therefore
counted as atom per unit cell. Similarly, an atom that lies on the edge of a unit cell is shared by four adjacent unit cells, so it
1

contributes atom to each. An atom at a corner of a unit cell is shared by all eight adjacent unit cells and therefore contributes
1

4
1

atom to each. The statement that atoms lying on an edge or a corner of a unit cell count as or atom per unit cell, respectively, is
1

4
1

true for all unit cells except the hexagonal one, in which three unit cells share each vertical edge and six share each corner (Figure
11.7.7:), leading to values of and atom per unit cell, respectively, for atoms in these positions. In contrast, atoms that lie
1 1

3 6

entirely within a unit cell, such as the atom in the center of a body-centered cubic unit cell, belong to only that one unit cell.

For all unit cells except hexagonal, atoms on the faces contribute atom to each unit cell, atoms on the edges contribute
1

2
1

atom to each unit cell, and atoms on the corners contribute atom to each unit cell.
1

 Example 11.7.1: The Unit Cell for Gold

Metallic gold has a face-centered cubic unit cell (11.7.7c). How many Au atoms are in each unit cell?
Given: unit cell
Asked for: number of atoms per unit cell

Strategy
Using Figure 11.7.7, identify the positions of the Au atoms in a face-centered cubic unit cell and then determine how much
each Au atom contributes to the unit cell. Add the contributions of all the Au atoms to obtain the total number of Au atoms in a
unit cell.

Solution
As shown in Figure 11.7.7, a face-centered cubic unit cell has eight atoms at the corners of the cube and six atoms on the
faces. Because atoms on a face are shared by two unit cells, each counts as atom per unit cell, giving 6 × = 3 Au atoms
1

2
1

per unit cell. Atoms on a corner are shared by eight unit cells and hence contribute only atom per unit cell, giving 8 × = 1
1

8
1

Au atom per unit cell. The total number of Au atoms in each unit cell is thus 3 + 1 = 4 .

 Exercise 11.7.1: Unit Cell for Iron

Metallic iron has a body-centered cubic unit cell (Figure 11.7.7b). How many Fe atoms are in each unit cell?

Answer
two

Now that we know how to count atoms in unit cells, we can use unit cells to calculate the densities of simple compounds. Note,
however, that we are assuming a solid consists of a perfect regular array of unit cells, whereas real substances contain impurities
and defects that affect many of their bulk properties, including density. Consequently, the results of our calculations will be close
but not necessarily identical to the experimentally obtained values.

 Example 11.7.2: Density of Iron

Calculate the density of metallic iron, which has a body-centered cubic unit cell (Figure 11.7.7b) with an edge length of 286.6
pm.
Given: unit cell and edge length
Asked for: density
Strategy:
A. Determine the number of iron atoms per unit cell.

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 B. Calculate the mass of iron atoms in the unit cell from the molar mass and Avogadro’s number. Then divide the mass by the
volume of the cell.
Solution:
A We know from Example 11.7.1 that each unit cell of metallic iron contains two Fe atoms.
B The molar mass of iron is 55.85 g/mol. Because density is mass per unit volume, we need to calculate the mass of the iron
atoms in the unit cell from the molar mass and Avogadro’s number and then divide the mass by the volume of the cell (making
sure to use suitable units to get density in g/cm3):

1 mol 55.85 g
−22
mass of Fe = (2 atoms F e) ( )( ) = 1.855 × 10 g
23
6.022 × 10 atoms mol

−12 2
10 m 10 cm
−23 3
volume = [(286.6 pm) ( )( )] = 2.345 × 10 cm
pm m

−22
1.855 × 10 g
3
density = = 7.880g/c m
−23 3
2.345 × 10 cm

This result compares well with the tabulated experimental value of 7.874 g/cm3.

 Exercise 11.7.2: Density of Gold

Calculate the density of gold, which has a face-centered cubic unit cell (Figure 11.7.7c) with an edge length of 407.8 pm.

Answer
19.29 g/cm3

Packing of Spheres
Our discussion of the three-dimensional structures of solids has considered only substances in which all the components are
identical. As we shall see, such substances can be viewed as consisting of identical spheres packed together in space; the way the
components are packed together produces the different unit cells. Most of the substances with structures of this type are metals.

Simple Cubic Structure

The arrangement of the atoms in a solid that has a simple cubic unit cell was shown in Figure 11.7.5a. Each atom in the lattice has
only six nearest neighbors in an octahedral arrangement. Consequently, the simple cubic lattice is an inefficient way to pack atoms
together in space: only 52% of the total space is filled by the atoms. The only element that crystallizes in a simple cubic unit cell is
polonium. Simple cubic unit cells are, however, common among binary ionic compounds, where each cation is surrounded by six
anions and vice versa (Figure 11.7.8).

Figure 11.7.8 : The arrangement of atoms in a simple cubic unit cell. Each atom in the lattice has six nearest neighbors in an
octahedral arrangement.

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Body-Centered Cubic Structure
The body-centered cubic unit cell is a more efficient way to pack spheres together and is much more common among pure
elements. Each atom has eight nearest neighbors in the unit cell, and 68% of the volume is occupied by the atoms. As shown in
Figure 11.7.8, the body-centered cubic structure consists of a single layer of spheres in contact with each other and aligned so that
their centers are at the corners of a square; a second layer of spheres occupies the square-shaped “holes” above the spheres in the
first layer. The third layer of spheres occupies the square holes formed by the second layer, so that each lies directly above a sphere
in the first layer, and so forth. All the alkali metals, barium, radium, and several of the transition metals have body-centered cubic
structures.

Hexagonal Close-Packed and Cubic Close-Packed Structures

The most efficient way to pack spheres is the close-packed arrangement, which has two variants. A single layer of close-packed
spheres is shown in Figure 11.7.6a. Each sphere is surrounded by six others in the same plane to produce a hexagonal
arrangement. Above any set of seven spheres are six depressions arranged in a hexagon. In principle, all six sites are the same, and
any one of them could be occupied by an atom in the next layer. Actually, however, these six sites can be divided into two sets,
labeled B and C in Figure 11.7.9a. Sites B and C differ because as soon as we place a sphere at a B position, we can no longer
place a sphere in any of the three C positions adjacent to A and vice versa.

Figure 11.7.9 : Close-Packed Layers of Spheres. (a) In this single layer of close-packed spheres, each sphere is surrounded by six
others in a hexagonal arrangement. (b) Placing an atom at a B position prohibits placing an atom at any of the adjacent C positions
and results in all the atoms in the second layer occupying the B positions. (c) Placing the atoms in the third layer over the atoms at
A positions in the first layer gives the hexagonal close-packed structure. Placing the third-layer atoms over the C positions gives
the cubic close-packed structure.
If we place the second layer of spheres at the B positions in Figure 11.7.9a, we obtain the two-layered structure shown in Figure
11.7.9b. There are now two alternatives for placing the first atom of the third layer: we can place it directly over one of the atoms

in the first layer (an A position) or at one of the C positions, corresponding to the positions that we did not use for the atoms in the
first or second layers (Figure 11.7.9c). If we choose the first arrangement and repeat the pattern in succeeding layers, the positions
of the atoms alternate from layer to layer in the pattern ABABAB…, resulting in a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure (Figure
11.7.9a). If we choose the second arrangement and repeat the pattern indefinitely, the positions of the atoms alternate as

ABCABC…, giving a cubic close-packed (ccp) structure (Figure 11.7.9b). Because the ccp structure contains hexagonally packed
layers, it does not look particularly cubic. As shown in Figure 11.7.9b, however, simply rotating the structure reveals its cubic
nature, which is identical to a fcc structure. The hcp and ccp structures differ only in the way their layers are stacked. Both
structures have an overall packing efficiency of 74%, and in both each atom has 12 nearest neighbors (6 in the same plane plus 3 in
each of the planes immediately above and below).

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 Figure 11.7.10. The ccp structure in (b) is shown in an exploded view, a side view, and a rotated view. The rotated view
emphasizes the fcc nature of the unit cell (outlined). The line that connects the atoms in the first and fourth layers of the ccp
structure is the body diagonal of the cube.
Table 11.7.1 compares the packing efficiency and the number of nearest neighbors for the different cubic and close-packed
structures; the number of nearest neighbors is called the coordination number. Most metals have hcp, ccp, or bcc structures,
although several metals exhibit both hcp and ccp structures, depending on temperature and pressure.
Table 11.7.1 : Properties of the Common Structures of Metals
Structure Percentage of Space Occupied by Atoms Coordination Number

simple cubic 52 6

body-centered cubic 68 8

hexagonal close packed 74 12

cubic close packed (identical to face-centered

74 12
cubic)

Summary
A crystalline solid can be represented by its unit cell, which is the smallest identical unit that when stacked together produces the
characteristic three-dimensional structure. Solids are characterized by an extended three-dimensional arrangement of atoms, ions,
or molecules in which the components are generally locked into their positions. The components can be arranged in a regular
repeating three-dimensional array (a crystal lattice), which results in a crystalline solid, or more or less randomly to produce an
amorphous solid. Crystalline solids have well-defined edges and faces, diffract x-rays, and tend to have sharp melting points. In
contrast, amorphous solids have irregular or curved surfaces, do not give well-resolved x-ray diffraction patterns, and melt over a
wide range of temperatures.
The smallest repeating unit of a crystal lattice is the unit cell. The simple cubic unit cell contains only eight atoms, molecules, or
ions at the corners of a cube. A body-centered cubic (bcc) unit cell contains one additional component in the center of the cube. A
face-centered cubic (fcc) unit cell contains a component in the center of each face in addition to those at the corners of the cube.
Simple cubic and bcc arrangements fill only 52% and 68% of the available space with atoms, respectively. The hexagonal close-
packed (hcp) structure has an ABABAB… repeating arrangement, and the cubic close-packed (ccp) structure has an ABCABC…
repeating pattern; the latter is identical to an fcc lattice. The hcp and ccp arrangements fill 74% of the available space and have a
coordination number of 12 for each atom in the lattice, the number of nearest neighbors. The simple cubic and bcc lattices have
coordination numbers of 6 and 8, respectively.

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