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Louise Dawe

@louisedawe.bsky.social
1.2K followers 543 following 175 posts

Chemistry prof at Wilfrid Laurier University. Program Co-Chair @iucr2026.bsky.social Section Editor @actacrystb.iucr.org Teaching and Education Editor @japplcryst.iucr.org ORCID: 0000-0003-3630-990X

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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Congratulations, Quartz! After a decade of #MinCup, this key rock-forming mineral of optical tricks is the #MinCup26 Champion! Due to intense manipulation attempts in the final hours, the exact winning margin is still being audited. Please join us tomorrow for celebration!
A clear double-terminated quartz crystal with petroleum inclusions. Credit: John Sobolewski
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Copper is my fav element, but for #MinCup26 final, I am team #Quartz! Pilati used its vibrational spectra to calculate how atoms move in its framework at room temperature. Quartz turns atomic motion into measurable behaviour. Read the @actacrystb.iucr.org study: journals.iucr.org/paper?cr0463=
journals.iucr.org
Thermal parameters for α-quartz: a lattice-dynamical calculation
Thermal parameters for α-quartz: a lattice-dynamical calculation
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Copper is my fav element, but for #MinCup26 final, I am team #Quartz! Pilati used its vibrational spectra to calculate how atoms move in its framework at room temperature. Quartz turns atomic motion into measurable behaviour. Read the @actacrystb.iucr.org study: journals.iucr.org/paper?cr0463=
journals.iucr.org
Thermal parameters for α-quartz: a lattice-dynamical calculation
Thermal parameters for α-quartz: a lattice-dynamical calculation
1149
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I’m team #Quartz all the way in #MinCup26! Under pressure, its SiO₂ framework does not simply shrink: Si–O–Si bridges flex and SiO₄ tetrahedra distort. d’Amour, Denner and Schulz reveal this structural resilience in their 1979 @actacrystb.iucr.org classic: journals.iucr.org/paper?a17323=
journals.iucr.org
Structure determination of α-quartz up to 68 x 108 Pa
Structure determination of α-quartz up to 68 x 108 Pa
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I’m team #Quartz all the way in #MinCup26! Under pressure, its SiO₂ framework does not simply shrink: Si–O–Si bridges flex and SiO₄ tetrahedra distort. d’Amour, Denner and Schulz reveal this structural resilience in their 1979 @actacrystb.iucr.org classic: journals.iucr.org/paper?a17323=
journals.iucr.org
Structure determination of α-quartz up to 68 x 108 Pa
Structure determination of α-quartz up to 68 x 108 Pa
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Let's see #Cuprite in #MinCup26 finals! Jauch and Reehuis used γ-ray diffraction to revisit how electrons are arranged in Cu₂O, finding incomplete ionization of Cu and O but no Cu–Cu charge build-up to support covalent bonding. Reported in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/paper?S20525...
journals.iucr.org
Reassessment of the electron density in Cu2O using γ-ray diffraction
The electron-density distribution in Cu2O has been critically reexamined to test controversial conclusions from earlier experimental and theoretical studies.
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Let's see #Cuprite in #MinCup26 finals! Jauch and Reehuis used γ-ray diffraction to revisit how electrons are arranged in Cu₂O, finding incomplete ionization of Cu and O but no Cu–Cu charge build-up to support covalent bonding. Reported in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/paper?S20525...
journals.iucr.org
Reassessment of the electron density in Cu2O using γ-ray diffraction
The electron-density distribution in Cu2O has been critically reexamined to test controversial conclusions from earlier experimental and theoretical studies.
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I’m voting #Graphite in this #MinCup26 round! Trömel compares graphite with graphene and asks what their unusually close-packed carbon atoms reveal about the rigidity of their layers. A thought-provoking read in @actacrystb.iucr.org (article in German): journals.iucr.org/paper?sn0042=
journals.iucr.org
Zur Kristallchemie von Graphen und Graphit
The evidence of graphene being formed from pentavalent carbon augments the exceptional properties of this two-dimensional crystal.
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I’m voting #Graphite in this #MinCup26 round! Trömel compares graphite with graphene and asks what their unusually close-packed carbon atoms reveal about the rigidity of their layers. A thought-provoking read in @actacrystb.iucr.org (article in German): journals.iucr.org/paper?sn0042=
journals.iucr.org
Zur Kristallchemie von Graphen und Graphit
The evidence of graphene being formed from pentavalent carbon augments the exceptional properties of this two-dimensional crystal.
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I’m voting #Halite in the #MinCup26 quarter-finals! The familiar NaCl lattice has another life in hydrohalite, NaCl·2H₂O, where water reshapes it into a distinct crystal structure. Check out Klewe and Pedersen’s classic @actacrystb.iucr.org determination: journals.iucr.org/paper?a11282=
journals.iucr.org
The crystal structure of sodium chloride dihydrate
The crystal structure of sodium chloride dihydrate
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I’m voting #Halite in the #MinCup26 quarter-finals! The familiar NaCl lattice has another life in hydrohalite, NaCl·2H₂O, where water reshapes it into a distinct crystal structure. Check out Klewe and Pedersen’s classic @actacrystb.iucr.org determination: journals.iucr.org/paper?a11282=
journals.iucr.org
The crystal structure of sodium chloride dihydrate
The crystal structure of sodium chloride dihydrate
0127
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I still think #Quartz should win #MinCup26! Yogev-Einot and Avnir show that its structure is not simply right- or left-handed: T and P change the symmetry, helicity and degree of chirality of its SiO₄-based building blocks. More in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/paper?bk0144=
journals.iucr.org
Pressure and temperature effects on the degree of symmetry and chirality of the molecular building blocks of low quartz
Quantitative symmetry and quantitative chirality measures were used to etablish correlations between pressure and temperature (PT) and the magnitude of these structural properties for the molecular bu...
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
LeSuPer @lesuper.bsky.uy · 26/09/2026
Don't you think it is absolutely stunning that the simplest regular polyhedron connected simply 1:1 can make so many beautiful and complex patterns? This is why I love simple 2-connected structures. Quartz is the #Perovskite of tetrahedra-based crystal structures.
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I still think #Quartz should win #MinCup26! Yogev-Einot and Avnir show that its structure is not simply right- or left-handed: T and P change the symmetry, helicity and degree of chirality of its SiO₄-based building blocks. More in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/paper?bk0144=
journals.iucr.org
Pressure and temperature effects on the degree of symmetry and chirality of the molecular building blocks of low quartz
Quantitative symmetry and quantitative chirality measures were used to etablish correlations between pressure and temperature (PT) and the magnitude of these structural properties for the molecular bu...
2145
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I’m voting #Sphalerite for #MinCup26! Ulian and Valdrè map how its zinc-blende ZnS structure responds to pressure - its direct band gap becomes indirect above 11 GPa, before it transforms to a rock-salt phase at about 14.7 GPa. Read more in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/paper?bm5116=
journals.iucr.org
Thermomechanical, electronic and thermodynamic properties of ZnS cubic polymorphs: an ab initio investigation on the zinc-blende–rock-salt phase transition
A theoretical DFT investigation of the thermomechanical properties and phase boundary between zinc-blende and rock-salt ZnS polymorphs between 0 and 25 GPa and 0 and 800 K is reported.
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Very high pressure causes a change in the arrangement of sphalerite’s atoms. At even higher pressure (around 145,000 times atmospheric pressure!) it adopts a denser crystal structure, even though the chemical composition remains ZnS.
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
LeSuPer @lesuper.bsky.uy · 25/09/2026
Sphalerite is also historically important for crystallography since it was a big octahedral ZnS crystal that allowed Max von Laue show without a hint of doubt how X-rays are scattered at precise angles by crystals. A large, easy to allign crystal, helped show 3 and 4-fold rotational symmetry.
XRD diffraction pattern of ZnS collected along a 3-fold axis (incident beam perpendicular to a triangular face of an octahedral) of a ZnS Crystal obtained by von Laue, Friedrich and Knipping.XRD diffraction pattern of ZnS collected along a 4-fold axis (incident beam paralelo to a diagonal of an octahedral) of a ZnS Crystal obtained by von Laue, Friedrich and Knipping
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I’m voting #Sphalerite for #MinCup26! Ulian and Valdrè map how its zinc-blende ZnS structure responds to pressure - its direct band gap becomes indirect above 11 GPa, before it transforms to a rock-salt phase at about 14.7 GPa. Read more in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/paper?bm5116=
journals.iucr.org
Thermomechanical, electronic and thermodynamic properties of ZnS cubic polymorphs: an ab initio investigation on the zinc-blende–rock-salt phase transition
A theoretical DFT investigation of the thermomechanical properties and phase boundary between zinc-blende and rock-salt ZnS polymorphs between 0 and 25 GPa and 0 and 800 K is reported.
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I’m voting #Graphite for #MinCup26! Under high P and T, Kulnitskiy et al. transformed graphite into a carbon landscape of diamond nanoparticles, lonsdaleite fragments, polytypes and twins. Read how changes in layer stacking produce this in @actacrystb.iucr.org : journals.iucr.org/paper?ps5025=
journals.iucr.org
Polytypes and twins in the diamond–lonsdaleite system formed by high-pressure and high-temperature treatment of graphite
Twins and polytypes in diamond and lonsdaleite nanoparticles were studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and the mechanisms of their appearance were proposed. Coherent and incohe...
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I’m voting #Graphite for #MinCup26! Under high P and T, Kulnitskiy et al. transformed graphite into a carbon landscape of diamond nanoparticles, lonsdaleite fragments, polytypes and twins. Read how changes in layer stacking produce this in @actacrystb.iucr.org : journals.iucr.org/paper?ps5025=
journals.iucr.org
Polytypes and twins in the diamond–lonsdaleite system formed by high-pressure and high-temperature treatment of graphite
Twins and polytypes in diamond and lonsdaleite nanoparticles were studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and the mechanisms of their appearance were proposed. Coherent and incohe...
0138
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Anxiously awaiting the release of @mineralcup.bsky.social #MinCup26 Round 2 Match 8! 🪨🤩 (Heads-up, I'm voting ✏️.)
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I’m voting #Halite in this #MinCup26 round! Under 1.7 GPa, NaCl forms a tridecahydrate with a hydrogen-bond network like ice VI, including orientationally disordered water molecules. Yamashita explores salt’s this high-pressure chemistry in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/paper?ne5013=
journals.iucr.org
The hydrogen-bond network in sodium chloride tridecahydrate: analogy with ice VI
The hydrogen-bonded structure of sodium chloride trideca­hydrate, NaCl·13(H, D)2O, has been determined at 1.7 GPa and 298 K by single-crystal neutron diffraction. Its hydrogen-bond network is analogou...
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I’m voting #Halite in this #MinCup26 round! Under 1.7 GPa, NaCl forms a tridecahydrate with a hydrogen-bond network like ice VI, including orientationally disordered water molecules. Yamashita explores salt’s this high-pressure chemistry in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/paper?ne5013=
journals.iucr.org
The hydrogen-bond network in sodium chloride tridecahydrate: analogy with ice VI
The hydrogen-bonded structure of sodium chloride trideca­hydrate, NaCl·13(H, D)2O, has been determined at 1.7 GPa and 298 K by single-crystal neutron diffraction. Its hydrogen-bond network is analogou...
3199
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Vote #Pyromorphite for #MinCup26! In their @actacrystb.iucr.org paper Hirano and Okudera explore the lead-phosphate apatite framework shared by pyromorphite, showing how its chloride channel is shaped by the surrounding structure and Pb²⁺ lone-pair e- density. journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Spatial distribution of 6s2 lone electron pair in Pb4Na(PO4)3 and stereochemical activity of the 6s2 electron cloud in lead-bearing apatites
In lacunary apatite structure-type Pb4Na(PO4)3, residual density attributable to the deformed 6s2 electron cloud is found in the vicinity of A2-site Pb2+ on regular A2 triangle normal to c. Systematic...
0107
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Vote #Pyromorphite for #MinCup26! In their @actacrystb.iucr.org paper Hirano and Okudera explore the lead-phosphate apatite framework shared by pyromorphite, showing how its chloride channel is shaped by the surrounding structure and Pb²⁺ lone-pair e- density. journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Spatial distribution of 6s2 lone electron pair in Pb4Na(PO4)3 and stereochemical activity of the 6s2 electron cloud in lead-bearing apatites
In lacunary apatite structure-type Pb4Na(PO4)3, residual density attributable to the deformed 6s2 electron cloud is found in the vicinity of A2-site Pb2+ on regular A2 triangle normal to c. Systematic...
0107
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Voting #Julienite for #MinCup26! Check out this classic @actacrystb.iucr.org by Cano et al. to see a different cobalt(II) thiocyanate, this one with Co-NCS-Co bridges, and with water molecules and sulfur completing a hydrogen-bond network. journals.iucr.org/paper?S05677...
journals.iucr.org
The crystal structure of cobalt(II) thiocyanate trihydrate
The crystal structure of cobalt(II) thiocyanate trihydrate
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Voting #Julienite for #MinCup26! Check out this classic @actacrystb.iucr.org by Cano et al. to see a different cobalt(II) thiocyanate, this one with Co-NCS-Co bridges, and with water molecules and sulfur completing a hydrogen-bond network. journals.iucr.org/paper?S05677...
journals.iucr.org
The crystal structure of cobalt(II) thiocyanate trihydrate
The crystal structure of cobalt(II) thiocyanate trihydrate
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I'm going for #Quartz to the end in #MinCup26! Need another reason to vote #Quartz? In @actacrystb.iucr.org, Fricke and Thomas modelled how its SiO₄ tetrahedra distort and tilt as temperature changes, then used that to predict the α- and β-structures at new temps! journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Modelling the structural variation of quartz and germanium dioxide with temperature by means of transformed crystallographic data
A pseudocubic parameterization of the O4 tetrahedra of quartz and its structural analogue GeO2 at variable temperatures allows direct calculation of tetrahedral tilt angle, the microscopic order param...
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I'm going for #Quartz to the end in #MinCup26! Need another reason to vote #Quartz? In @actacrystb.iucr.org, Fricke and Thomas modelled how its SiO₄ tetrahedra distort and tilt as temperature changes, then used that to predict the α- and β-structures at new temps! journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Modelling the structural variation of quartz and germanium dioxide with temperature by means of transformed crystallographic data
A pseudocubic parameterization of the O4 tetrahedra of quartz and its structural analogue GeO2 at variable temperatures allows direct calculation of tetrahedral tilt angle, the microscopic order param...
01912
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Voting #Andalusite for #MinCup26! In @actacrystb.iucr.org, Pilati et al. use a lattice-dynamical model to predict its atoms’ thermal motion, specific heat and entropy, in close agreement with experiment. Structure is not just a still image. Read more: journals.iucr.org/paper?cr0515=
journals.iucr.org
Transferability of Empirical Force Fields in Silicates: Lattice-Dynamical Evaluation of Atomic Displacement Parameters and Thermodynamic Properties for the Al2OSiO4 Polymorphs
Atomic displacement parameters, Raman and IR spectra have been calculated by lattice dynamics for aluminium silicates Al2OSiO4 (andalusite and kyanite).
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Voting #Andalusite for #MinCup26! In @actacrystb.iucr.org, Pilati et al. use a lattice-dynamical model to predict its atoms’ thermal motion, specific heat and entropy, in close agreement with experiment. Structure is not just a still image. Read more: journals.iucr.org/paper?cr0515=
journals.iucr.org
Transferability of Empirical Force Fields in Silicates: Lattice-Dynamical Evaluation of Atomic Displacement Parameters and Thermodynamic Properties for the Al2OSiO4 Polymorphs
Atomic displacement parameters, Raman and IR spectra have been calculated by lattice dynamics for aluminium silicates Al2OSiO4 (andalusite and kyanite).
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I’m voting #Vesuvianite in this #MinCup26 round! Gagné and Hawthorne analysed 63,081 alkali- and alkaline-earth-metal–O bond lengths in @actacrystb.iucr.org. Vesuvianite’s eight-coordinate Ca has four shorter and four longer Ca–O bonds, with more info here! journals.iucr.org/b/issues/201...
journals.iucr.org
Bond-length distributions for ions bonded to oxygen: alkali and alkaline-earth metals
Bond-length distributions for ions bonded to oxygen: alkali and alkaline-earth metals
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I’m voting #Vesuvianite in this #MinCup26 round! Gagné and Hawthorne analysed 63,081 alkali- and alkaline-earth-metal–O bond lengths in @actacrystb.iucr.org. Vesuvianite’s eight-coordinate Ca has four shorter and four longer Ca–O bonds, with more info here! journals.iucr.org/b/issues/201...
journals.iucr.org
Bond-length distributions for ions bonded to oxygen: alkali and alkaline-earth metals
Bond-length distributions for ions bonded to oxygen: alkali and alkaline-earth metals
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Vote #Sphalerite for #MinCup26! Its zinc-blende structure is more than a mineralogical classic; in their 2026 @actacrystb.iucr.org work, Naydenov show that in ZnSe it can host Cr, Co and Fe together, yielding homogeneous crystals for 2–5 μm laser applications. journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Crystal growth, structure and infrared absorption of co-doped (Cr, Co, Fe):ZnSe single crystals
Using the high-pressure Bridgman method, (Cr, Co, Fe)-co-doped ZnSe optical crystals are grown for the first time, and their physical properties related to the crystal structure are investigated.
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Vote #Sphalerite for #MinCup26! Its zinc-blende structure is more than a mineralogical classic; in their 2026 @actacrystb.iucr.org work, Naydenov show that in ZnSe it can host Cr, Co and Fe together, yielding homogeneous crystals for 2–5 μm laser applications. journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Crystal growth, structure and infrared absorption of co-doped (Cr, Co, Fe):ZnSe single crystals
Using the high-pressure Bridgman method, (Cr, Co, Fe)-co-doped ZnSe optical crystals are grown for the first time, and their physical properties related to the crystal structure are investigated.
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Kinda chic like #Cassiterite: an industrially vital tin ore that can grow elaborate contact and cyclic crystal twins from tiny, structurally matched seeds. Daneu et al. report functional materials, but make the crystal architecture dramatic in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Formation of contact and multiple cyclic cassiterite twins in SnO2-based ceramics co-doped with cobalt and niobium oxides
The formation of contact and cyclic cassiterite twins during crystal growth is controlled by oriented nucleation of SnO2 domains on nanosized grains of structurally related cobalt–niobium oxide phases...
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Kinda chic like #Cassiterite: an industrially vital tin ore that can grow elaborate contact and cyclic crystal twins from tiny, structurally matched seeds. Daneu et al. report functional materials, but make the crystal architecture dramatic in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Formation of contact and multiple cyclic cassiterite twins in SnO2-based ceramics co-doped with cobalt and niobium oxides
The formation of contact and cyclic cassiterite twins during crystal growth is controlled by oriented nucleation of SnO2 domains on nanosized grains of structurally related cobalt–niobium oxide phases...
085
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Tough call in this #MinCup26 round, but I'm voting #Chrysocolla! Its variable, hydrated copper-silicate chemistry makes it difficult to pin down, but its formula leads to 1:1 phyllosilicate layers, which Mercier explored for kaolin in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/b/issues/200...
journals.iucr.org
Kaolin polytypes revisited ab initio
Re-examination and quantum optimization of kaolin layer stackings allow the construction of a rough enthalpy versus pressure graph with 36 stackings where kaolinite and dickite are low-energy solution...
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Cher Performs 'If I Could Turn Back Time'
ALT: Cher Performs 'If I Could Turn Back Time'
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Tough call in this #MinCup26 round, but I'm voting #Chrysocolla! Its variable, hydrated copper-silicate chemistry makes it difficult to pin down, but its formula leads to 1:1 phyllosilicate layers, which Mercier explored for kaolin in @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/b/issues/200...
journals.iucr.org
Kaolin polytypes revisited ab initio
Re-examination and quantum optimization of kaolin layer stackings allow the construction of a rough enthalpy versus pressure graph with 36 stackings where kaolinite and dickite are low-energy solution...
1165
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
In this #MinCup26 round, I'm on team #Gadolinite! Even a classic rare-earth mineral family still has new crystal chemistry to reveal, as reported by Chukanov in @actacrystb.iucr.org with a gadolinite-(Y) analogue dominated by both hydroxyl and iron. journals.iucr.org/b/issues/201...
journals.iucr.org
Crystal structure of the OH-dominant gadolinite-(Y) analogue (Y,Ca)2(Fe,□)Be2Si2O8(OH,O)2 from Heftetjern pegmatite, Norway
A hydroxyl-dominant analogue of gadolinite-(Y) has been discovered in the Heftetjern granitic pegmatite, southern Norway. Data are provided here on the chemical composition, physical properties and cr...
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Thank you!
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I voted #Gadolinite-(Y), but the results say that there are zero votes for this >0 mineral! :D
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
In this #MinCup26 round, I'm on team #Gadolinite! Even a classic rare-earth mineral family still has new crystal chemistry to reveal, as reported by Chukanov in @actacrystb.iucr.org with a gadolinite-(Y) analogue dominated by both hydroxyl and iron. journals.iucr.org/b/issues/201...
journals.iucr.org
Crystal structure of the OH-dominant gadolinite-(Y) analogue (Y,Ca)2(Fe,□)Be2Si2O8(OH,O)2 from Heftetjern pegmatite, Norway
A hydroxyl-dominant analogue of gadolinite-(Y) has been discovered in the Heftetjern granitic pegmatite, southern Norway. Data are provided here on the chemical composition, physical properties and cr...
0108
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Voting #halite for #Mincup26! Its crystal structure is the archetype for alkali halides, and Kucharczyk showed in their 1987 @actacrystb.iucr.org how optical susceptibilities track ionic radii. In a halite-type crystal, even light can reveal the size of an ion. journals.iucr.org/b/issues/198...
journals.iucr.org
Ionic radii and optical susceptibilities in the halite-type alkali halides
Ionic radii and optical susceptibilities in the halite-type alkali halides
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Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Voting #halite for #Mincup26! Its crystal structure is the archetype for alkali halides, and Kucharczyk showed in their 1987 @actacrystb.iucr.org how optical susceptibilities track ionic radii. In a halite-type crystal, even light can reveal the size of an ion. journals.iucr.org/b/issues/198...
journals.iucr.org
Ionic radii and optical susceptibilities in the halite-type alkali halides
Ionic radii and optical susceptibilities in the halite-type alkali halides
0135
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I'm voting #cylindrite for #MinCup26! As reported by Evain in @actacrystb.iucr.org, levyclaudite-(Sb), a member of the cylindrite-type minerals, is incommensurately modulated and joins sheets with mismatched dimensions, producing its extraordinary curved form! journals.iucr.org/b/issues/200...
journals.iucr.org
First (3 + 2)-dimensional superspace approach to the structure of levyclaudite-(Sb), a member of the cylindrite-type minerals
The structure of levyclaudite-(Sb), a member of the cylindrite mineral group, has been determined from a synthetic sample by single-crystal X-ray diffraction on the basis of the (3 + 2)-dimensional su...
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Reposted by Louise Dawe
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It's #calcite for me in this round of #MinCup2026! Ordinarily a brittle mineral, it is transformed into a strong, lightweight material as nanocrystals arranged into an intricate mesoscale architecture in sea urchin spines. More in Colfen's @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Mesocrystalline structure and mechanical properties of biogenic calcite from sea urchin spine
Diffuse scattering and inelastic scattering were probed by X-rays and compared for inorganically formed natural calcite and biogenic calcite from the sea urchin spine. The differences in the mechanica...
01910
Louise Dawe @louisedawe.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It's #calcite for me in this round of #MinCup2026! Ordinarily a brittle mineral, it is transformed into a strong, lightweight material as nanocrystals arranged into an intricate mesoscale architecture in sea urchin spines. More in Colfen's @actacrystb.iucr.org: journals.iucr.org/b/issues/202...
journals.iucr.org
Mesocrystalline structure and mechanical properties of biogenic calcite from sea urchin spine
Diffuse scattering and inelastic scattering were probed by X-rays and compared for inorganically formed natural calcite and biogenic calcite from the sea urchin spine. The differences in the mechanica...
01910
Reposted by Louise Dawe
Dave Palmer @davepalmerusask.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Dr. Doug Fansher, PhD 2022, is now a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Wilfrid Laurier University!
Doug Fansher presenting at the Western Canadian Medicinal Chemistry Workshop in Saskatoon in September 2018.
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