:Diffraction patterns collected through PED often agree well-enough with the kinematical pattern to serve as input data for direct methods calculations. A three-dimensional set of intensities mapped over the reciprocal lattice can be generated by collecting diffraction patterns over multiple zone axes. Applying direct methods to this data set will then yield probable crystal structures. Coupling direct methods results with simulations (e.g. multislice) and iteratively refining the solution can lead to the ab initio determination of the crystal structure.
:The PED technique has been used to determine the crystal structure of many classes of materials. Initial investigations during the emergence of the technique focused on complex oxides and nano-precipitates in Aluminum alloys that could not be resolved using x-ray diffraction. Since becoming a more widespread crystallographic technique, many more complex metal oxide structures have been solved.
:Zeolites are a technologically valuable class of materials that have historically been difficult to solve using x-ray diffraction due to the large unit cells that typically occur. PED has been demonstrated to be a viable alternative to solving many of these structures, including the ZSM-10, MCM-68, and many of the ITQ-n class of zeolite structures.
:PED also enables the use of electron diffraction to investigate beam-sensitive organic materials. Because PED can reproduce symmetric zone axis diffraction patterns even when the zone axis is not perfectly aligned, it enables information to be extracted from sensitive samples without risking overexposure during a time-intensive orientation of the sample.