1.17 Which of the following lattices has the highest packing efficiency
(i) simple cubic
(ii) body-centred cubic and
(iii) hexagonal close-packed lattice?
(i) Simple cubic:- In a simple cubic lattice the atoms are located only on the corners of the cube.
Thus, the edge length or side of the cube ‘a’, and the radius of each particle, r are related as a = 2r
Volume of cubic unit cell = =
And Volume of 1 atom :
(ii) Body centred cubic:- In body centred cubic, we have atoms at all corners and at body centre.
Clearly, the atom at the centre will be in touch with the other two atoms diagonally arranged.
; and
Also, the length of body diagonal is equal to 4r.
The volume of the cube :
In BCC, a total number of atoms is 2.
(iii) Hexagonal close-packed:- We know that both types of (hcp and ccp) are equally efficient. We also know that the packing efficiency of ccp is 74 percent.
(i) Simple cubic = 52.4%
(ii) Body centred cubic=68%
(iii) Hexagonal close-packed=74%
Thus among all, packing efficiency of hcp is the highest.