Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

X-ray Diffraction

X-ray diffraction is an analytical technique used to determine the atomic and molecular structure of materials by directing X-rays at a sample and measuring how they are scattered. When X-rays strike a crystalline material, they are diffracted by the regularly spaced planes of atoms, producing a pattern of intensiti…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 12 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 55× across the literature 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

X-ray diffraction is an analytical technique used to determine the atomic and molecular structure of materials by directing X-rays at a sample and measuring how they are scattered. When X-rays strike a crystalline material, they are diffracted by the regularly spaced planes of atoms, producing a pattern of intensities at specific angles that follows Bragg's law. Analyzing this pattern reveals the arrangement, spacing, and orientation of atoms, allowing scientists to identify crystalline phases, measure lattice parameters, and, in structural biology, determine the three-dimensional structures of proteins and other biological macromolecules. X-ray crystallography, which relies on diffraction from single crystals, has been one of the most important methods for resolving the detailed structures of biomolecules and underpins much of modern structural science. The technique is also widely used to characterize a broad range of solids, from minerals and metals to nanomaterials and pharmaceuticals. This page draws on the journal's peer-reviewed, open-access research within structural and materials science that employs structural characterization methods, including a study of thin-film deposition and characterization techniques and an investigation of the structural, optical, and EPR properties of doped nanocrystals. It provides an encyclopedic overview of X-ray diffraction and its role in revealing the structure of matter.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 55 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on X-ray Diffraction, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in International Journal of Structural Biology.

Journal editorial board
Elena Orlova · United Kingdom Coralia Bleotu · Romania Udaya Kumar Tiruttani Subhramanyam · Germany

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.