Copper Crystal Shapes


The crystal structure of copper is called the "face centered cubic", or for short, "fcc" structure. It is based on one of the 14 Bravais lattices. Each copper atom has 12 nearest neighbors. Silver and gold also have fcc crystal structures and are "isostructural" with copper.

Both the crystal structure and the external conditions (such as temperature and solution chemistry) in which copper crystals form determine what external morphology of copper crystals results.






Tetrahexahedron {430} with modifying Dodecahedron {110}

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