Visualization of Crystalline Structures Using MAGE

Abstract

A series of educational modules for teaching and visualizing crystalline structures has been developed for use with the MAGE program. The MAGE program, designed for display of protein structures, has features that make it well-suited for presentation of the structures of inorganic solids. Some of these features include: (1) the selective display of subsets of atoms, (2) short pseudoanimation sequences, and (3) predefined viewing angles. Three tutorial modules focusing on the unit cell, lattice-point sharing, closest-packed structures, and holes in ionic lattices have been prepared. The remaining five example modules are organized by structure type and include structures based on filling of tetrahedral and octahedral holes as well as more complex structures and silicates. We have successfully incorporated this instructional tool into the curriculum at the undergraduate level in both general chemistry and upper-level inorganic chemistry.