The Department of Crystallography of St Petersburg University is equipped with modern equipment which allows for advanced mineral and synthetic material characterization of very different crystalline systems. The research is carrying out with the help of the Center of X-ray diffraction studies at the Research park of St Petersburg University (XRD Center SPbU).

In the Department of Crystallography SPbU, X-ray diffraction is a central technique of the investigation of minerals and synthetic inorganic compounds, which provides direct insight into the crystal structures of studied crystalline phases. The X-ray diffraction unit contains the following equipement:

Spectroscopy and thermal capabilities of the Department include UV-VIS, FTIR, DSC, DTA and TGA techniques, which complement the results of the X-ray diffraction analyses.

For the material synthesis and processing, several high temperature muffle and tube furnaces are regularly in use. Teflon-lined steel reaction vessels are used for the synthesis by hydrothermal methods. A laboratory vaccum tube sealing unit is used to grow crystals from the gaz phase in the course of chemical vapour transport reactions. The synthesis laboratory has chemical hoods and gloveboxes to carry out wet chemistry and air-sensitive manipulations in a safe and controlled environment.