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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

X-ray Powder Diffraction in Conservation Science: Towards Routine Crystal Structure Determination of Corrosion Products on Heritage Art Objects
Published on: June 8, 2016
Solution of the Crystal and Molecular Structure of Complex Low-Symmetry Organic Compounds with Powder Diffraction
Kenneth D Knudsen1, Philip Pattison1, Andrew N Fitch2
1Swiss-Norwegian beamline, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), BP 220, F-38043 Grenoble Cedex (France), Fax: (+33) 4-76882694.
Abstract:
Without any prior knowledge of the molecular structure, all 31 carbon and oxygen atoms of fluorescein diacetate were accurately located based on a high-resolution powder diffraction experiment. Direct methods and Fourier recycling were used. This represents a considerable advance with respect to the size of an organic molecule whose structure can be solved by ab initio methods from measurements on a powder.
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