Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) is the most powerful and reliable method for structure determination of chemical substances in the solid state. It allows us to identify the three-dimensional atomic arrangement of a chemical compound, as well as bond lengths, bond angles and intermolecular interactions. The structure information derived from SC-XRD can be further combined with spectroscopic techniques, such as NMR, TRLFS, and quantum chemical calculations to gain further insights into the electronic properties of the studied compounds.

Our single-crystal X-ray diffractometer, D8 VENTURE from Bruker, is installed in our controlled area for radioactive materials at the Institute of Resource Ecology. The diffractometer is equipped with dual micro-focus X-ray tubes for Mo or Cu Kα radiation and a high-end Charge-Integrating Pixel Array (CIPA) detector, PHOTON II. This instrument is one of the few single-crystal X-ray diffractometers in the world, which materializes the SC-XRD measurements on highly radioactive actinide compounds with proper precautions for radiation safety.