An attempt to describe the state of crystallinity of a solid as a value of some characteristic, usually relating to diffraction. The term is a misnomer because it suggests that the complex idea of crystallinity may be represented by a single value. The use of the term “crystallinity index” should be avoided, although it may be placed within quotation marks when referring in a limited way to previously referenced work (Guggenheim et al., 2002). Some indices are useful to describe e.g., crystallite size or grade of diagenesis. Indices were derived by Hinckley (1963) to distinguish between different samples of kaolinite, by Kübler (1964) to describe certain origins of samples of illite, and by Árkai (1991) to describe different origins of chlorite. It is recommended to refer to the author describing the procedures necessary to define the value, regardless of what the index may actually be describing, such as the Hinckley index.
See Guggenheim et al. (2002) and references therein.
Cf., Árkai index, Kübler index, Hinckley index