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DECOR
The Database of Educational Crystallographic Online Resources
This is an online resource for the sharing and borrowing of educational resources for crystallography. This resource originated from the DECOR project set up by Mike Zdilla at Temple University. It’s a forum where crystallographic educators worldwide can share resources for teaching crystallography, and where anyone who wishes to teach a course in crystallography or pursue an informal education in the art of crystal structure determination may have access to teaching resources.
Use of these materials is completely free. The one condition is to provide appropriate citations and to credit the authors of the material when you use it. Many educators and teachers worldwide have committed hours of time to the development of these resources, it is only fair that they receive the credit they deserve. If you agree to these terms, you may access the material using the links below. The material has been donated by expert crystallographers and educators to help others teach crystallography. Although it is hosted by the CCDC to help provide our community with resources to teach crystallography it has not been peer reviewed or checked and should be used at your own risk and discretion.
Topic
Type
X-ray Free-Electron Lasers
X-ray Free-Electron Lasers
Online Courses
- The revolution of XFELs - Chapter 13 of the Crystallography website from CSIC's Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology (from Prof. Martin Martinez-Ripoll)
- The content of this website is available in English and in Spanish (at this link)
- Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite the resource following the instructions within the website homepage.
- Topics: What is an XFEL?, Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SFX), SFX to determine the structure of macromolecules, Structural dynamics and molecular movies with XFELs, Experimental considerations for conducting serial crystallography experiments, Serial crystallography at synchrotron light sources, Compact pulsed X-ray light sources
Slides/Visual Aids
Slides/Visual Aids
Explore presentation slides donated by educators for teaching crystallography concepts. By downloading any of the files below you are agreeing to cite the authors when you use any of these resources.
Slides from George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
1. Introduction and Symmetry - Introduction to crystallography and symmetry - Last updated: 26/10/2010
2. Symmetry - Symmetry - Last updated: 23/09/2016
3. Lattices, Symmetry, Space Groups - Crystal lattices, Unit Cell, Bravais Lattice, symmetry, space groups - Last updated: 08/11/2010
4. Space Groups, Crystal Growth - Space groups, crystal growth, diffraction, instrumentation, X-rays
5. Diffraction, Reciprocal Space, Laue Group - Diffraction, reciprocal lattice, Bragg Equation, Laue Group, Symmetry, resolution - Last updated: 22/11/2010
6. Reciprocal Space, Space Group, Systematic Absences, Symmetry - Reciprocal Lattice, Space Group selection, systematic absences, centrosymmetry - Last updated: 29/11/2010
7. Space Group, Structure Factor, Phase - Space Group, Structure Factors, Phases - Last updated: 02/12/2010
8. Phase, Direct Methods, Dual Space - The Phase Problem, The Sayre Equation, Direct Methods, Dual Space - Last updated:14/12/2010
9. Heavy Atom Method - Patterson Methods - Last updated:11/01/2011
10. Refinement, Thermal Ellipsoids, Disorder, Fourier Difference - Refinement, ADP, Thermal Ellipsoids, Disorder, Libration, Fourier Difference Maps, Hydrogen atoms - Last updated:17/01/2011
11. Structure Factors, Constraints and Restraints, neutron diffraction - Structure Factors, Constraints and Restraints, ADP, Disorder, neutron diffraction - Last updated:26/01/2011
12. Powder Diffraction - Last updated:19/02/2011
13. Twinning, Anomalous dispersion, XAS, CCD, modulated structures - Twinning, Anomalous Dispersion, Absolute configuration, XAS, CCD, modulated structures - Last updated:07/02/2011
Slides from Phillip Fanwick
1. Introduction, ADP's, Crystal Quality - Introduction, ORTEPS and ADP's, Crystal Quality, CIFs, Disorder - Last updated: 05/11/2009
2. Equipment, coordinates - Equipment, Non-Cartesian Coordinates
3. Matrices, coordinates, unit cell. - Matrices, coordinates, the unit cell, Crystal Systems, Symmetry, Bravais Lattices
4. History of X-rays - X-rays, History of X-rays
5. X-rays, diffraction, interference - Interference, diffraction
6. Diffraction, History of Diffraction, Reciprocal Space - Diffraction, history of diffraction, reciprocal space
7. Reciprocal Space, Bragg's Law, Bragg planes, Ewald sphere - Reciprocal Space, bragg's law, bragg planes, miller Indices, ewald sphere - Last updated: 23/01/2008
8. Scattering, Fourier Theory, ADP, Absorption - Scattering, scattering factors, fourier theory, ADP's, absorption, thermal ellipsoids, equipment (Cold stream)
9. Symmetry - symmetry. If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite Phillip Fanwick and George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
10. Space Groups - Symmetry, space groups - If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite Phillip Fanwick and George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
11. Bravais Lattices, Centering, symmetry - Bravais Lattices, centering, symmetry, space groups - If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite Phillip Fanwick and George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
12. Space Groups, Symmetry - Symmetry, space groups
13, Equipment, Precession Camera, symmetry, space groups, redundant data, systematic absence. - Equipment, precession camera, symmetry, space groups, redundant data, systematic absences
14. Systematic absences, XPREP, Crystal growth and selection, - Systematic absences, XPREP, crystal growth, selecting crystals, equipment (microscope, goniometer, cameras), extinction (visible light)
15. Selecting crystals, goniometers, detectors. - Selecting crystals, equipment (microscope, goniometers, detectors)
16. Data Collection, Indexing - Data collection, indexing
17. Integration, Data reduction, scaling, twins, absorption correction - Integration, data reduction, scaling, twins, absorption correction - Last updated: 19/02/2010
18. XPREP, Fourier Theory, Structure solution, phase. - XPREP, Fourier theory, structure solution, The Phase problem. - Last updated: 03/08/2012. Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite Phillip Fanwick and George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
19. Structure solution, phase, charge flipping, Direct Methods, Fourier Theory - Structure solution, The Phase Problem, charge flipping, direct methods, Fourier Theory, normalized structure factors, Sayre Equation - Last updated: 03/08/2012. Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite Phillip Fanwick and George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
20. SIR, Patterson methods, Difference Fourier map. - SIR, Patterson, difference Fourier map
21. Structure Solution failure, refinement, correlation, occupancy - Structure solution failure, refinement, weighting, correlation, occupancy. Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite Phillip Fanwick and George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
22. Hydrogen Atoms, disorder, restraints, modulated structure, occupancy, SQUEEZE - Hydrogen atoms, disorder, restraints, commensurate modulated structure, occupancy, SQUEEZE, site occupancy disorder
23. Centric/noncentric space groups, anomalous scattering. - Centric/noncentric space groups, anomalous scattering, absolute configuration, Bijvoet differences, Flack factor, Hooft approach
24. Cif - CIF - Last updated: 12/04/2010
25. Twinning - Twinning
Slides from Frank Schaper, Université de Montréal
1. Introduction to crystals and the diffraction experiment - Introduction to Crystallography: Crystals, Bravais lattice, diffraction, Bragg equation, structure factors, reciprocal space
2. Refinement, constraints, restraints, hydrogen atoms - Refinement, constraints, restraints, hydrogen atom treatment
3. CIF, validation, signs of problems - CIF, validation, signs of problems
4. Space group determination - Space Group determination
5. Structure solution: Patterson, direct methods, charge flipping, dual space, intrinsic phasing - Structure solution - Patterson methods, direct methods, charge flipping, dual space refinement, intrinsic phasing
6a. Disorder - Disorder
6b. SQUEEZE - SQUEEZE
7. Anomalous dispersion, extinction, systematic absence violation, other problems - Anomalous dispersion, extinction, systematic absences violations, other problems
8. Twinning - Twinning
9. Data reduction: integration, scaling, absorption correction - Data Reduction
Slides from Mike Zdilla, Temple University
1. The Unit Cell: Bragg planes, The Bragg equation - Last updated: 08/01/2016
2. X-rays, Scattering, Bragg Equation, Bragg Planes, Interference, Diffraction: X-rays, scattering, Laue Equations, Bragg equations, bragg planes, diffraction, interference, miller indices - Last updated: 08/01/2016
3. Ewald Sphere, Reciprocal Space, Detectors : Ewald Sphere, Reciprocal Space, Detectors - Last updated: 08/01/2016
4. Scattering Factors, phases, vector addition: Scattering factors, phases, vector addition - Last updated: 08/01/2016
5. Symmetry, Space Groups, Systematic absences: Symmetry, space groups, systematic absences - Last updated: 08/01/2016
6. Fourier Theory, patterson methods: Fourier theory, patterson methods - Last updated: 08/01/2016
7. Disorder, modulated structures, quasicrystals, anomalous scattering, absolute structure: Disorder, modulated structures, quasicrystals, anomalous scattering, absolute structure - Last updated: 08/01/2016
8. Twinning: Twinning - Last updated: 08/01/2016
9. Optical Transform slides: Laser pointer diffraction visual aids - Last updated: 04/08/2012
Other animations and visual aids
1. Symmetry Animations (Jancik) : Last updated - 14/01/2016
2. Kappa geometry animation (WillowW, Kappa goniometer faster smaller, CC BY 3.0): Last updated - 28/01/2008
Practice Problems
Practice Problems
These practice examples have been created by George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and Mike Zdilla, Temple University
Video Courses
Video Courses
Watch video courses covering various crystallography topics
The Fascination of Crystals and Symmetry video course (YouTube) by Frank Hoffmann and Michael Sartor (University of Hamburg)
Introduction to Symmetry Operations and Point Groups by the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
Educational Software
Educational Software
Access online educational software for crystallography
3D reciprocal lattice viewer (Barbour) - If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting or publication, you must agree to cite Len Barbour, University of Stellenbosch.
CoSyM: Continuous Symmetry Measures website from Prof. Inbal Tuvi-Arad, Department of Natural Sciences, The Open University of Israel. - If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite the resource as I. Tuvi-Arad, G. Alon and D. Avnir, CoSyM, http://csm.ouproj.org.il
Online Courses
Online Courses
Access various crystallography online courses here
X-ray course from Patrick Carroll, University of Pennsylvania
X-ray course from Gervais Chapuis, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
X-ray course from Joseph Reibenspies, Texas A&M
Symmetry Resource from Dean Johnston, Otterbein University
Laboratories
Laboratories
You will find laboratory courses prepared by Mike Zdilla
General Crystallography
General Crystallography
Online Courses
- Crystallography in a nutshell - the Crystallography website from CSIC's Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology (from Prof. Martin Martinez-Ripoll)
- The content of this website is available in English and in Spanish (at this link)
- Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite the resource following the instructions within the website homepage.
- Topics: Introduction to basic crystallography
- Introduction - Chapter 0 of the Crystallography website from CSIC's Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology (from Prof. Martin Martinez-Ripoll)
- The content of this website is available in English and in Spanish (at this link)
- Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite the resource following the instructions within the website homepage.
- Topics: Introduction to basic crystallography
- The structure of crystals - Chapter 1 of the Crystallography website from CSIC's Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology (from Prof. Martin Martinez-Ripoll)
- The content of this website is available in English and in Spanish (at this link)
- Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite the resource following the instructions within the website homepage.
- Topics: Basics of crystals
- Learn about crystallography on the web, a collection of resources assembled during the International Year of Crystallography in 2013, available permanently on the website of the International Union of Crystallography
Practice Problems
- Practice examples by George Sheldrick (George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Practice examples by Mike Zdilla (Mike Zdilla, Temple University)
Links and Resources
Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs)
Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs)
This material has been donated by expert crystallographers and educators to help others teach the wonders of crystallography. Although it is hosted by the CCDC to help provide our community with resources to teach crystallography it has not been peer reviewed or checked and should be used at your own risk and discretion.
By downloading any of the files below you are agreeing to cite both the author and the institution given in brackets when you use any of these resources.
Video Courses
- Metal-Organic Frameworks and Networks - Chapter 6 of The Fascination of Crystals and Symmetry video course (YouTube) by Frank Hoffmann and Michael Sartor (University of Hamburg)
- Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite Frank Hoffmann and Michael Sartor (University of Hamburg).
- Additional material is available at https://crystalsymmetry.wordpress.com/yt/
- Topics Covered: Introduction to Metal-Organic Frameworks, “Infinite” Crystalline Compounds, Inorganic Secondary Building Units of MOFs, Organic Secondary Building Units of MOFs, Topology of MOFs, Principles of Network Determination
Structure Solution
Structure Solution
This material has been donated by expert crystallographers and educations to help others teach the wonders of crystallography. Although it is hosted by the CCDC to help provide our community with resources to teach crystallography it has not been peer reviewed or checked and should be used at your own risk and discretion.
By downloading any of the files below you are agreeing to cite both the author and the institution given in brackets when you use any of these resources.
Slides
- Phase, Direct Methods, Dual Space (George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Topics: The Phase Problem, The Sayre Equation, Direct Methods, Dual Space
- Last updated: 14/12/2010
- Heavy Atom Method (George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Topics:Patterson Methods
- Last updated: 11/01/2011
- XPREP, Fourier Theory, Structure solution, phase (Phillip Fanwick and George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Topics: XPREP, Fourier theory, structure solution, The Phase problem
- Last updated: 03/08/2012
- Structure solution, phase, charge flipping, Direct Methods, Fourier Theory (Phillip Fanwick and George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Topics: Structure solution, The Phase Problem, charge flipping, direct methods, Fourier Theory, normalized structure factors, Sayre Equation
- Last updated: 03/08/2012
- SIR, Patterson methods, Difference Fourier map (Phillip Fanwick)
- Topics: SIR, Patterson, difference Fourier map
- Structure Solution failure, refinement, correlation, occupancy (Phillip Fanwick and George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Topics: Structure solution failure, refinement, weighting, correlation, occupancy
- Fourier Theory, patterson methods (Michael Zdilla, Temple University)
- Topics: Fourier theory, patterson methods
- Last updated: 08/01/2016
- Structure solution: Patterson, direct methods, charge flipping, dual space, intrinsic phasing (Frank Schaper, Université de Montréal)
- Topics: Structure solution - Patterson methods, direct methods, charge flipping, dual space refinement, intrinsic phasing
Online Courses
- Structural resolution - Chapter 7 of the Crystallography website from CSIC's Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology (from Prof. Martin Martinez-Ripoll)
- The content of this website is available in English and in Spanish (at this link)
- Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite the resource following the instructions within the website homepage.
- Topics: Structure factor, Electron density, Fourier transform, The phase problem, Structural resolution, The Patterson function, The direct methods, Methods of structural resolution for macromolecules, Completing the structure
Practice Problems
- Practice examples by George Sheldrick (George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Relevant Sections: Patterson Methods
- Practice examples by Mike Zdilla (Mike Zdilla, Temple University)
- Relevant Sections: Patterson worksheet, Patterson, Direct Methods
Data Reduction
Data Reduction
This material has been donated by expert crystallographers and educations to help others teach the wonders of crystallography. Although it is hosted by the CCDC to help provide our community with resources to teach crystallography it has not been peer reviewed or checked and should be used at your own risk and discretion.
By downloading any of the files below you are agreeing to cite both the author and the institution given in brackets when you use any of these resources.
Slides
- Data reduction: integration, scaling, absorption correction (Frank Schaper, Université de Montréal)
- Topics: Data Reduction
Reciprocal Space and Ewald Construction
Reciprocal Space and Ewald Construction
Slides
- Diffraction, Reciprocal Space, Laue Group (George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Topics: Diffraction, reciprocal lattice, Bragg Equation, Laue Group, Symmetry, resolution
- Last updated: 22/11/2010
- Reciprocal Space, Space Group, Systematic Absences, Symmetry (George Sheldrick, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Topics: Reciprocal Lattice, Space Group selection, systematic absences, centrosymmetry
- Last updated: 29/11/2010
- Diffraction, History of Diffraction, Reciprocal Space (Phillip Fanwick)
- Topics: Diffraction, history of diffraction, reciprocal space
- Reciprocal Space, Bragg's Law, Bragg planes, Ewald sphere (Phillip Fanwick)
- Topics: Reciprocal Space, bragg's law, bragg planes, miller Indices, ewald sphere
- Last updated: 23/01/2008
- Ewald Sphere, Reciprocal Space, Detectors (Michael Zdilla, Temple University)
- Topics: Ewald Sphere, Reciprocal Space, Detectors
- Last updated: 08/01/2016
Online Courses
- Direct and reciprocal lattices - Chapter 4 of the Crystallography website from CSIC's Department of Crystallography and Structural Biology (from Prof. Martin Martinez-Ripoll)
- The content of this website is available in English and in Spanish (at this link)
- Citation: If you intend to use this resource in a classroom setting, you must agree to cite the resource following the instructions within the website homepage.
- Topics: Reciprocal lattice, Direct lattice, Miller indices, Symmetry
Practice Problems
- Practice examples by Mike Zdilla (Mike Zdilla, Temple University)
- Relevant Sections: Reciprocal Lattice worksheet, Reciprocal Lattice, Ewald Sphere, Structure Factors