Crystal System: Crystallography Space Groups Lattices Point Groups Crystals

Crystal system
In crystallography, the terms crystal system, crystal family, and lattice system each refer to one of several classes of space groups, lattices, point groups, or crystals. Informally, two crystals tend to be in the same crystal system if they have similar symmetries, though there are many exceptions to this. Crystal systems, crystal families, and lattice systems are similar but slightly different, and there is widespread confusion between them: in particular the trigonal crystal system is often confused with the rhombohedral lattice system, and the term "crystal system" is sometimes used to mean "lattice system" or "crystal family". Space groups and crystals are divided into 7 crystal systems according to their point groups, and into 7 lattice systems according to their Bravais lattices. Five of the crystal systems are essentially the same as five of the lattice systems, but the hexagonal and trigonal crystal systems differ from the hexagonal and rhombohedral lattice systems. The six crystal families are formed by combining the hexagonal and trigonal crystal systems into one hexagonal family, in order to eliminate this confusion.
OVERVIEW
A lattice system is a class of lattices with the same point group. In three dimensions there are seven lattice systems: triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, rhombohedral, hexagonal, and cubic. The lattice system of a crystal or space group is determined by its lattice but not always by its point group. A crystal system is a class of point groups. Two point groups are placed in the same crystal system if the sets of possible lattice systems of their space groups are the same. For many point groups there is only one possible lattice system, and in these cases the crystal system corresponds to a lattice system and is given the same name. However, for the five point groups in the trigonal crystal class there are two possible lattice systems for their point groups: rhombohedral or hexagonal. In three dimensions there are seven crystal systems: triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, trigonal, hexagonal, and cubic. The crystal system of a crystal or space group is determined by its point group but not always by its lattice. A crystal family also consists of point groups and is formed by combining crystal systems whenever two crystal systems have space groups with the same lattice. In three dimensions a crystal family is almost the same as a crystal system (or lattice system), except that the hexagonal and trigonal crystal systems are combined into one hexagonal family. In three dimensions there are six crystal families: triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, hexagonal, and cubic. The crystal family of a crystal or space group is determined by either its point group or its lattice, and crystal families are the smallest collections of point groups with this property. In dimensions less than three there is no essential difference between crystal systems, crystal families, and lattice systems. There are 1 in dimension 0, 1 in dimension 1, and 4 in dimension 2, called oblique, rectangular, square, and hexagonal. The relation between three-dimensional crystal families, crystal systems, and lattice systems is shown in the following table:
Crystal family
Crystal system
Required symmetries of point group
Point Space Bravais groups groups lattices
Lattice system
Triclinic
None
Triclinic
Monoclinic
1 twofold axis of rotation or 1 mirror plane
13
Monoclinic
Orthorhombic
3 twofold axes of rotation or 1 twofold axis of rotation and
59
Orthorhombic
two mirror planes.
Tetragonal
1 fourfold axis of rotation
68
Tetragonal
7 Trigonal Hexagonal 1 threefold axis of rotation 5 18
Rhombohedral
1 Hexagonal 1 sixfold axis of rotation 7 27
Hexagonal
Cubic
4 threefold axes of rotation
36
Cubic
Total: 6
32
230
14
The 7 crystal systems consist of 32 crystal classes (corresponding to the 32 crystallographic point groups) as shown in the following table.
crystal family
crystal system
point group / crystal class
Herman Schnfli nOrbifo Coxet Ord Point symmetry es Maugui ld er er n
Group structure
triclinic
triclinicpedial
C1
11
[]
enantiomorphicp 1 olar
trivial
triclinicpinacoidal
Ci
1x
[2,1 ]
centrosymmetric 2
cyclic
monoclinicC2 sphenoidal
22
[2,2]
cyclic
monoclinic
monoclinicCs domatic
*11
[]
polar
cyclic
monoclinicC2h prismatic
2/m
2*
[2,2 ]
centrosymmetric 4
2cyclic
orthorhombi cD2 sphenoidal
222
222
[2,2]
enantiomorphic
dihedral
orthorhombic
orthorhombi C2v c-pyramidal
mm2
*22
[2]
polar
dihedral
orthorhombi cD2h bipyramidal
mmm
*222
[2,2]
centrosymmetric 8
2dihedral
tetragonalpyramidal
C4
44
[4]
cyclic
tetragonal
tetragonaldisphenoid al
S4
2x
[2 ,2]
non4 centrosymmetric
cyclic
tetragonalC4h dipyramidal
4/m
4*
[2,4 ]
centrosymmetric 8
2cyclic
tetragonalD4 trapezoidal
422
422
[2,4]
enantiomorphic
dihedral
ditetragonal C4v -pyramidal
4mm
*44
[4]
polar
dihedral
tetragonalD2d scalenoidal
42m or 4m2
2*2
[2 ,4]
dihedral
ditetragonal D4h dipyramidal
4/mmm
*422
[2,4]
centrosymmetric 16
2dihedral
trigonalpyramidal
C3
33
[3]
cyclic
rhombohed S6 (C3i) ral
3x
[2 ,3 ] centrosymmetric 6
cyclic
trigonal hexagon al
trigonalD3 trapezoidal
32 or 321 or 312
322
[3,2]
enantiomorphic
dihedral
ditrigonalpyramidal
C3v
3m or 3m1 or 31m
*33
[3]
polar
dihedral
ditrigonalD3d scalahedral
3m or 3m1 or 31m
2*3
[2 ,6]
centrosymmetric 12
dihedral
hexagon hexagonalC6 al pyramidal
66
[6]
cyclic
trigonalC3h dipyramidal
3*
[2,3 ]
cyclic
hexagonalC6h dipyramidal
6/m
6*
[2,6 ]
centrosymmetric 12
2cyclic
hexagonalD6 trapezoidal
622
622
[2,6]
enantiomorphic
12
dihedral
dihexagona C6v l-pyramidal
6mm
*66
[6]
polar
12
dihedral
ditrigonalD3h dipyramidal
6m2 or 62m
*322
[2,3]
dihedral
dihexagona lD6h dipyramidal
6/mmm
*622
[2,6]
centrosymmetric 24
2dihedral
tetrahedral
23
332
[3,3]
enantiomorphic
12
alternating
hextetrahed Td ral
43m
*332
[3,3]
symmetric
cubic
diploidal
Th
m3
3*2
[3 ,4]
centrosymmetric 24
2alternati ng
gyroidal
432
432
[4,3]
enantiomorphic
24
symmetric
hexoctahed Oh ral
m3m
*432
[4,3]
centrosymmetric 48
2symmet ric
Point symmetry can be thought of in the following fashion: consider the coordinates which make up the structure, and project them all through a single point, so that (x,y,z) becomes (-x,-y,-z). This is the 'inverted structure'. If the original structure and inverted structure are identical, then the structure is centrosymmetric. Otherwise it is non-centrosymmetric. Still, even for non-centrosymmetric case, inverted structure in some cases can be rotated to align with the original structure. This is the case of non-centrosymmetric achiral structure. If the inverted structure cannot be rotated to align with the original [1] structure, then the structure is chiral (enantiomorphic) and its symmetry group is enantiomorphic. A direction is called polar if its two directional senses are geometrically or physically different. A polar [2] symmetry direction of a crystal is called a polar axis. Groups containing a polar axis are called polar. A polar crystal possess a "unique" axis (found in no other directions) such that some geometrical or physical property is different at the two ends of this axis. It may develop a dielectric polarization, e.g. in pyroelectric crystals. A polar axis can occur only in non-centrosymmetric structures. There should also not be a mirror plane or 2-fold axis perpendicular to the polar axis, because they will make both directions of the axis equivalent. The crystal structures of chiral biological molecules (such as protein structures) can only occur in the 11 enantiomorphic point groups (biological molecules are usually chiral).

Crystal System: Crystallography Space Groups Lattices Point Groups Crystals

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Crystal System: Crystallography Space Groups Lattices Point Groups Crystals

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Crystal system

Required symmetries of point group

Point Space Bravais groups groups lattices

1 twofold axis of rotation or 1 mirror plane

3 twofold axes of rotation or 1 twofold axis of rotation and

two mirror planes.

1 fourfold axis of rotation

7 Trigonal Hexagonal 1 threefold axis of rotation 5 18

1 Hexagonal 1 sixfold axis of rotation 7 27

4 threefold axes of rotation

point group / crystal class

Herman Schnfli nOrbifo Coxet Ord Point symmetry es Maugui ld er er n

orthorhombi cD2 sphenoidal

orthorhombi C2v c-pyramidal

orthorhombi cD2h bipyramidal

ditetragonal C4v -pyramidal

ditetragonal D4h dipyramidal

rhombohed S6 (C3i) ral

hexagon hexagonalC6 al pyramidal

dihexagona C6v l-pyramidal

dihexagona lD6h dipyramidal

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