Crystal structures of elements

Elements (Cu, Zn, C), and C₃N₄
Return to the crystal page

Part A: Metals
Here are the face-centered cubic (also called cubic close-packed) structure of copper metal and the hexagonal close-packed structure of zinc metal in two different views.

1. Small crystals (one unit cell)
Note how both crystals are made up of hexagonal-looking layers of close-packed atoms.

Copper

If you rotate this structure you should be able to see the cube as well as the hexagons/triangles.

Zinc

Can you find a view of this structure that looks like a cube?

Highlight one octahedron of six Zn atoms

Highlight one tetrahedron of four Zn atoms

2. Bigger crystals, to show A-B-C packing of successive layers

Cu

Push for spacefilling
Back to ball-and-stick
Color the layers: "A" red, "B" green and "C" yellow
Highlight one face-centered cube of fourteen Cu atoms Zn

Push for spacefilling
Back to ball-and-stick
Color the layers: "A" red and "B" green
Highlight one Zn atom (magenta) and the twelve atoms surrounding it

Part B: Nonmetals
You can look at two different forms of carbon:

1. Diamond the purple lines show you its cubic lattice. Note that it's just like cubic ZnS (see the "halide" page), except all of the atoms are identical!

Push for spacefilling
Back to ball-and-stick 2. Buckminsterfullerene, C₆₀ a molecular form of carbon (sort of like P₄ and S₈)

Push for spacefilling
Back to ball-and-stick

3. Carbon nitride, C₃N₄ ok, it's not an element! This is a theoretical structure of C₃N₄, based on one of the known structures of Si₃N₄. Some people think that if you could make this form of C₃N₄, it might be even harder than diamond.
Push for spacefilling
Back to ball-and-stick