Electron Density and Bonding in Crystals: Principles, Theory and X-Ray Diffraction Experiments in Solid State Physics and Chemistry provides a comprehensive, unified account of the use of diffraction techniques to determine the distribution of electrons in crystals. The book discusses theoretical and practical techniques, the application of electron density studies to chemical bonding, and the determination of the physical properties of condensed matter. The book features the authors' own key contributions to the subject as well a thorough, critical summary of the extensive literature on electron density and bonding. Logically organized, coverage ranges from the theoretical and experimental basis of electron density determination to its impact on investigations of the nature of the chemical bond and its uses in determining electromagnetic and optical properties of crystals. The main text is supplemented by appendices that provide clear, concise guidance on aspects such as systems of units, quantum theory of atomic vibrations, atomic orbitals, and creation and annihilation operators. The result is a valuable compendium of modern knowledge on electron density distributions, making this reference a standard for crystallographers, condensed matter physicists, theoretical chemists, and materials scientists.

Electron Density and Bonding in Crystals: Principles, Theory and X-Ray Diffraction Experiments in Solid State Physics and Chemistry provides a comprehensive, unified account of the use of diffraction techniques to determine the distribution of electrons in crystals. The book discusses theoretical and practical techniques, the application of electron density studies to chemical bonding, and the determination of the physical properties of condensed matter. The book features the authors' own key contributions to the subject as well a thorough, critical summary of the extensive literature on electron density and bonding. Logically organized, coverage ranges from the theoretical and experimental basis of electron density determination to its impact on investigations of the nature of the chemical bond and its uses in determining electromagnetic and optical properties of crystals. The main text is supplemented by appendices that provide clear, concise guidance on aspects such as systems of units, quantum theory of atomic vibrations, atomic orbitals, and creation and annihilation operators. The result is a valuable compendium of modern knowledge on electron density distributions, making this reference a standard for crystallographers, condensed matter physicists, theoretical chemists, and materials scientists.

T. Koritsanszky, A. Volkov, M. Chodkiewicz: New Directions in Pseudoatom-Based X-Ray Charge Density Analysis.- B. Dittrich, D. Jayatilaka: Reliable Measurements of Dipole Moments from Single-Crystal Diffraction Data and Assessment of an In-Crystal Enhancement.- B. Engels, Th. C. Schmidt, C. Gatti, T. Schirmeister, R.F. Fink: Challenging Problems in Charge Density Determination: Polar Bonds and Influence of the Environment.- S. Fux, M. Reiher: Electron Density in Quantum Theory.- K. Meindl, J.Henn: Residual Density Analysis.- C. Gatti: The Source Function Descriptor as a Tool to Extract Chemical Information from Theoretical and Experimental Electron Densities.

Electron Density and Bonding in Crystals: Principles, Theory and X-Ray Diffraction Experiments in Solid State Physics and Chemistry provides a comprehensive, unified account of the use of diffraction techniques to determine the distribution of electrons in crystals. The book discusses theoretical and practical techniques, the application of electron density studies to chemical bonding, and the determination of the physical properties of condensed matter. The book features the authors' own key contributions to the subject as well a thorough, critical summary of the extensive literature on electron density and bonding. Logically organized, coverage ranges from the theoretical and experimental basis of electron density determination to its impact on investigations of the nature of the chemical bond and its uses in determining electromagnetic and optical properties of crystals. The main text is supplemented by appendices that provide clear, concise guidance on aspects such as systems of units, quantum theory of atomic vibrations, atomic orbitals, and creation and annihilation operators. The result is a valuable compendium of modern knowledge on electron density distributions, making this reference a standard for crystallographers, condensed matter physicists, theoretical chemists, and materials scientists.

This book deals with the electron density distribution in molecules and solids as obtained experimentally by X-ray diffraction. It is a comprehensive treatment of the methods involved, and the interpretation of the experimental results in terms of chemical bonding and intermolecular interactions. Inorganic and organic solids, as well as metals, are covered in the chapters dealing with specific systems. As a whole, this monograph is especially appealing because of its broad interface with numerous disciplines. Accurate X-ray diffraction intensities contain fundamental information on the charge distribution in crystals, which can be compared directly with theoretical results, and used to derive other physical properties, such as electrostatic moments, the electrostatic potential and lattice energies, which are accessible by spectroscopic and thermodynamic measurements. Consequently, the work will be of great interest to a broad range of crystallographers and physical scientists.

Unravelling an intricate network of interatomic interactions and their relations to different behaviors of chemical compounds is key to the successful design of new materials for both existing and novel applications, from medicine to innovative concepts of molecular electronics and spintronics. X-ray crystallography has proven to be very helpful in addressing many important chemical problems in modern materials science and biosciences. Intertwined with computational techniques, it provides insights into the nature of chemical bonding and the physicochemical properties (including optical, magnetic, electrical, mechanical, and others) of crystalline materials, otherwise accessible by experimental techniques that are not so readily available to chemists. In addition to the advanced approaches in charge density analysis made possible by X-ray diffraction, the information collected over the years through this technique (which is easily mined from huge databases) has tremendous use in the design of new materials for medicine, gas storage, and separation applications as well as for electronic devices. This Special Issue contains two reviews and five articles that cover very different aspects of ‘composition–structure’ and ‘structure–property’ relations identified by X-ray diffraction and complementary techniques (from conventional IR and Raman spectroscopies to cutting-edge quantum chemical calculations) and their use in crystal engineering and materials science.