Magnesium hafnium tungstate [MgHf(WO4)3] was synthesized by high-energy ball milling followed by calcination. The material was characterized by variable- temperature neutron and x-ray diffraction. It crystallized in space group P21/a below 400 K and transformed to an orthorhombic structure at higher temperatures. The orthorhombic polymorph adopted space group Pnma, instead of the Pnca structure commonly observed for other A2(MO4)3 materials (A = trivalent metal, M = Mo, W). In contrast, the monoclinic polymorphs appeared to be isostructural. Negative thermal expansion was observed in the orthorhombic phase with αa = −5.2 × 10−6 K−1, αb = 4.4 × 10−6 K−1, αc = −2.9 × 10−6 K−1, αV = −3.7 × 10−6 K−1, and αl = −1.2 × 10−6 K−1. The monoclinic to orthorhombic phase transition was accompanied by a smooth change in unit-cell volume, indicative of a second-order phase transition.

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Advances in instrumentation, software applications, and database content have all contributed to improvements in pharmaceutical analyses by powder diffraction methods in the 21stcentury. When compared to the globally harmonized United States Pharmacopeia General Chapter <941>, “Characterization of Crystalline and Partially Crystalline Solids by X-ray Powder Diffraction”, many historic problems in pharmaceutical analysis have been addressed by combinations of improved methods and instrumentation. Major changes in the last 20 years include (i) a dramatic lowering in detection capability and detection limits, (ii) enhanced capabilities for dynamic measurements such asin situanalyses under a variety of conditions, and (iii) the ability to identify and characterize nanomaterials, non-crystalline, and amorphous materials by both coherent and incoherent scattering profiles.

The crystal structure of linagliptin hemihydrate hemiethanolate was solved by direct methods and refined by least-squares on the basis of 3D electron diffraction data. Linagliptin is one of the largest organic structures solved ab initio by electron diffraction. The good quality of the data allows the recognition of subtle symmetry reductions and of fine differences in the configuration of the two independent molecules that make up the structure. The structure was then further refined using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data and optimized using density functional techniques. The linagliptin hemihydrate hemiethanolate structure is very similar to the known linagliptin water/methanol/ethanol Form I, and crystallizes in space group P21212 (#18) with a = 24.85091(13), b = 21.56916(9), c = 9.74376(4) Å, V = 5222.79(3) Å3, and Z = 4. Although the compounds are similar, they are not the same, so the linagliptin hemihydrate hemiethanolate structure is a novel one. The powder pattern from a Le Bail fit to synchrotron data is included in the Powder Diffraction File as entry 00-066-1626.

A total pattern analysis suite of programs has been developed and incorporated into the ICDD® PDF-4 database. While the suite of programs is intended for the analysis of any diffraction pattern, particular attention was focused on the analysis of common amorphous, non-crystalline, or partially crystalline materials found in minerals, polymers, and pharmaceuticals. The suite of programs directly interfaces to the ICDD database and libraries of non-crystalline references.