Low temperature phase transition and structure of CsMgPO₄

CsMgPO4 doped in radioisotopes is a promising compound for usage as a radioactive medical source. However, a low temperature phase transition at the temperatures close to ambient conditions (-37⁰C) was observed. Information about structural changes is important in order to understand whether it can cause any problem for medical use of this compound. Structural changes have been investigated in detail using synchrotron powder diffraction methods, Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The structure undergoes transformation from orthorhombic modification, sp. gr. Pnma (RT phase) to monoclinic modification, sp.gr P21/n (LT phase). New LT modification adopts similar to RT but slightly distorted unit cell: a=9.58199(2)Å, b=8.95501(1) Å, c=5.50344(2)Å, β=90.68583(1)⁰, V=472.198(3) Å3. The framework is made up of alternating magnesia and phosphate tetrahedra sharing vertices with caesium counter cations located in the channels formed. Upon the transformation a combined rotation of PO4 and MgO4 tetrahedral takes place. A comparison with other phase transition in ABW-type framework class compounds is given.

Crystallization Competition in the School: An innovative teaching/outreach tool

The Crystallization Competition in the School is an innovative contest on Crystallography and Crystallization for young students aged 12-16, successfully tried in five yearly editions. During the 2013/2014 school year, the Competition is coordinated by the Specialized Spanish Group of Crystallography and Crystal Growth throughout Spain in seven hosting areas, culminating in a National Final with a selection of the best crystallization projects. Objectives: a) To stimulate scientific vocations amongst secondary school pupils through an enjoyable and enriching activity; b) To explain basic concepts of Crystallography and Crystallization taking advantage of the natural attraction of crystal growth; c) To communicate how researchers work and compete in a scientific environment; d) To bridge the gap between science and society by conveying the importance of Crystallography in everyday life. Development: 1. Training of secondary school teachers (October-November 2013). A number of workshops entitled `Crystallography in the School' are organised to provide school teachers with specific training in Crystallography and Crystallization; 2. Laboratory work and experimental follow-up (December 2013-March 2014). The students grow spectacular large crystals using an innovative crystallization kit of ADP under the guidance of their teachers, while developing a solid understanding of the concepts involved: solubility, supersaturation, nucleation and crystal growth. Students may also develop other crystallization projects related to the formation of geodes, common salt crystallization in its different habits, and crystallization in gels; 3. Intermediate/Regional Finals (April 2014). The best crystallization projects nationwide are selected to present their crystallization projects at the National Final in Madrid; 4. National Final (10 May 2014, headquarters of CSIC). The format is similar to a `Scientific Congress', where the students have to present a crystal model and a poster of their work. * Organized by: GE3C, CSIC and The Crystallization Factory. * Sponsored by: FECYT, MINECO and Triana Science & Technology.

IYCr2014: Online activities in Spain to attract and involve everyone

New technologies offer an emerging framework to spread scientific knowledge. New sites based on different platforms (blogs, websites, youtube channels, etc.) are born everyday with an informative and educational spirit. The success of such proposals lies in an increasingly growing interest of the general publicusing these tools as an easy, convenient and funnyway to share information. These technologies contribute to spread and promote the participation in the IYCr2014 activities by supporting all the activities organized under the IYCr2014 [1,2] in Spain,accessing an ever wider audience through the network. First, we have created an own website: www.iycr2014.info where all the information about the different activities (national and international) of the IYCr2014 are being posted. This website has a TV channel available where some events (workshops, exhibitions, conferences, activities for school children or public engagement events) are broadcasted. Both, website and TV channel, are being supported by means of the most popular social networks: facebook and tweeter. Besides, some of our actions are designed by the use of different network tools. As selected running activities, we shall present the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) [3] about crystallization and crystallography. This course is builtby using an accessible language andwas thought to support Crystallization in the School Project. A second example is the Mobile application to the project: Sands of the world. This very complex project needs worldwide collaboration to collect samples of sand from as many beaches as possible around the world. A third application is the Online development of competitions such as The most relevant molecule in SpanishCrystallography and The Round Robin-Crystal phase identification. Acknowledgements: Financial support from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (MAT2010-15094, Factoría de Cristalización - Consolider Ingenio 2010) Figure: QR codes of the website (left) and the MOOC (right)