Abstract
X-ray Diffractometry is a very useful analytical technique to achieve detailed information about the crystal structure and mineralogical composition, qualitative and quantitative, of matter. It is a technique that exploits the interaction between solid matter and X-rays that, converged on a substance, are diffracted. The outgoing X-rays, on the basis of the wavelength of the incident beam and according to the path within the analyzed sample provide information on fundamental parameters of the crystalline state as the distance of the lattice planes and the parameters of the elementary cell. The analytical result is called diffraction pattern containing a series of peaks that show the intensity and angular position of the diffracted X-rays. Typically, a diffraction pattern represents, for individual minerals, a kind of distinct fingerprint and can be used to easily identify the material or distinguish it from others, especially with the use of modern databases. X-Ray Diffractometry can be successfully used in a variety of fields: building materials, geological samples, environmental pollutants and increasingly by forensic sciences as a scientific aid for the analysis of evidence from crime scenes.
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Cappelletti, P., Graziano, S.F., Bish, D.L. (2023). X-ray Diffractometry in Forensic Science. In: Mercurio, M., Langella, A., Di Maggio, R.M., Cappelletti, P. (eds) Mineralogical Analysis Applied to Forensics. Soil Forensics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08834-6_2
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