Calculation of diffraction line profiles in the case of coupled stacking fault and size-effect broadening: application to boehmite AlOOH

A method that allows the calculation of the profile of the whole X-ray diffraction pattern of a powder, taking into account simultaneously a size-effect broadening and the influence of a stacking fault in a layered structure is described. A model of a stacking fault has been chosen as a function of experimental data recorded with gels or divided powders of boehmite AlOOH. By means of profile refinements, an amplitude and a fault probability have been deduced and correlated with the presence of non-stoichiometric excess water. The procedure can be generalized to the same faulting mechanism in other materials or to other types of fault.