Phase identification and structure determination from multiphase crystalline powder samples by rotation electron diffraction

Phase identification and structure characterization are important in synthetic and materials science. It is difficult to characterize the individual phases from multiphase crystalline powder samples, especially if some of the phases are unknown. This problem can be solved by combining rotation electron diffraction (RED) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Four phases were identified on the same transmission electron microscopy grid from a multiphase sample in the Ni-Se-O-Cl system, and their structures were solved from the RED data. Phase 1 (NiSeO₃) was found in the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database using the information from RED. Phase 2 (Ni3Se4O10Cl2) is an unknown compound, but it is isostructural to Co₃Se₄O₁₀Cl₂, which was recently solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Phase 3 (Ni₅Se₆O₁₆C_l4H₂) and Phase 4 (Ni₅Se₄O₁₂Cl₂) are new compounds. The fact that there are at least four different compounds in the as-synthesized material explains why the phase identification and structure determination could not be done by PXRD alone. The RED method makes phase identification from such multiphase powder samples much easier than would be the case using powder X-ray diffraction. The RED method also makes structure determination of submicrometre-sized crystals from multiphase samples possible.