ICSD Content
The ICSD contains an almost exhaustive list of known inorganic crystal structures published since 1913, including their atomic coordinates. In particular, the database provides information on:
- structural data of pure elements, minerals, metals, and intermetallic compounds
- structural descriptors (Pearson symbol, ANX formula, Wyckoff sequences)
- bibliographic data
- synthesis conditions
To be included in the database, a structure has to be fully characterized, the atomic coordinates determined and the composition fully specified. A typical entry includes inter alia, the chemical name, formula, unit cell, space group, complete atomic parameters (including atomic displacement parameters), site occupation factors, title, authors and literature citation. In addition to the published data, many items are added through expert evaluation or are generated by computer programs such as the Wyckoff sequence, molecular formula and weight, ANX formula, mineral group, etc.
All crystal structures contained in the database have been carefully evaluated and checked for quality by our expert editorial team. We continuously extract and abstract the original data from over 80 leading scientific journals and additional 1,900 scientific journals. ICSD is updated twice a year, each time adding approximately 3,000 new records. As the size of the ICSD has grown over time, we have continuously enhanced the quality of our data.
At present, the ICSD contains 125,000 entries, including
- 1,400 crystal structures of the elements
- 23,000 records for binary compounds
- 42,500 records for ternary compounds
- 45,000 records for quarternary and quintenary compounds
- About 90,000 entries (70,3%) have been assigned a structure type.
There are currently 4,860 structure prototypes.
Detailed information on the ICSD may be found in the scientific manual.