Crystal Lab › Prototype structures › Trigonal
γ-Potassium Nitrate (KNO₃)
Trigonal · space group R3m (No. 160) · Pearson hR5
Symmetry elements and Wyckoff positions (interactive)
γ-Potassium Nitrate (KNO₃) in R3m
SettingUnit cell
- Lattice constants
- a = 5.487 Å, b = 5.487 Å, c = 9.156 Å; α = 90.00°, β = 90.00°, γ = 120.00°
- Cell volume
- 238.7 ų
- Atoms in the conventional cell
- 15 (K 3, N 3, O 9)
- Formula units Z
- 3
- Pearson symbol
- hR5 — hexagonal / trigonal, rhombohedral lattice, 5 atoms per conventional cell
- Symmetry operations
- 18 per cell
Crystallographic sites
| Site | Element | Wyckoff | Multiplicity | x | y | z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K1 | K | 3a | 3 | 0.0000 | 0.0000 | 0.0000 |
| N2 | N | 3a | 3 | 0.0000 | 0.0000 | 0.4050 |
| O3 | O | 9b | 9 | 0.1310 | 0.8690 | 0.4340 |
The multiplicity and the Wyckoff letter say how many copies of the site the group makes in one cell and on which kind of symmetry element the site sits; the 15 atoms drawn above are these sites multiplied by all 18 operations. Press Wyckoff under Colour to see the sites, and tick a symmetry element on the left to see which atoms lie on it.
How to read the label
ABC3_hR5_160_a_a_b-002: the stoichiometry comes first (A, B, C… are the elements in alphabetical order of their site labels), then the Pearson symbol hR5, then the space-group number 160, then the Wyckoff letters occupied by each element in turn (K: 3a; N: 3a; O: 9b). Two structures with the same label are the same arrangement with different cell parameters or coordinates.
Other compounds with this structure
AgNO₃, NH₄ClO₄, BaTiO₃ <!--beginning with an
Note: \gamma-KNO₃.
Source
Coordinates and cell from the AFLOW Encyclopedia of Crystallographic Prototypes, entry ABC3_hR5_160_a_a_b-002 (M. J. Mehl et al., Comput. Mater. Sci. 136, S1 (2017); D. Hicks et al., ibid. 161, S1 (2019) and 199, 110450 (2021); S. Eckert et al., ibid. 240, 112988 (2024)). Symmetry elements, Wyckoff assignment and the diagram are computed on this page from the group operations.
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