ISSN:
1600-5724
Source:
Crystallography Journals Online : IUCR Backfile Archive 1948-2001
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Geosciences
,
Physics
Notes:
The concept of 'absolute structure' as introduced by Jones [Acta Cryst. (1984), A40, 660-662] is discussed, and the term 'absolute' is extended to cases where the structure has been related to some external macroscopic physical property. The non-centrosymmetric crystal classes are divided into seven distinct categories for which specific terms are proposed: structural chirality, when the 'absolute structure' is determined for crystals in classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 222, 422, 32, 622, 23 and 432; absolute chirality, when the 'absolute structure' is linked to a chiral property such as optical rotation; absolute polarity, when the 'absolute structure' is linked to a polar property such as pyroelectricity; absolute morphology, when the 'absolute structure' is linked to the crystal habit: in this case there may be two further subdivisions - absolute chiral morphology (or absolute enantiomorphism) to describe a link to the hand of the habit, and absolute polar morphology to describe a link to the polar nature of the habit. It is further recommended that the term absolute configuration should be reserved only for molecular species and not for crystal structures.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1107/S0108767388011055
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