Inorganic Crystal Structure Database – ICSD

Precise information on the crystal structure of materials is essential for scientists from research institutions working in the fields of crystallography, mineralogy, geology, materials science and inorganic chemistry need. This information can solve issues in materials science, help predict and optimize material properties, and improve analytics. Prominent examples are research on and the further development of crystalline inorganic materials in photovoltaic or for batteries. The searchable data published in ICSD have been selected and curated. These data are also used as a basis for data mining via the offered API.

At present, ICSD contains more than 290,000 crystal structures. It is updated twice a year with topical data from scientific journals and other relevant sources.  About 16,000 structures are added each year. The oldest data sets date back to publications from 1913, i.e., to the beginnings of x-ray diffractometry. ICSD is constantly complemented with older documents.

ICSD offers topical, high-quality information. One data set contains the entire information on the structure of an inorganic crystalline compound. This information is also used to provide a 3D visualisation of the structure or to calculate a simulation of the corresponding powder diffractogram of the crystal structure. Information on theoretically calculated structures is also available and the material properties are displayed. ICSD customers can access the information service either through a desktop version or a web version and also integrate it into their in-house systems. The quality and completeness of the data is ensured by collaborating and networking with the Cambridge Crystal Data Centre (CCDC) in Great Britain, the International Centre for Diffraction Data in the USA, Technicum in Stuttgart and the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Science in Belgrade.

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