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face-centred cubic structure
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Diagram showing three common metallic crystal structures: body-centred cubic with one atom at the center, face-centred cubic with atoms at each face and corner, and hexagonal close-packed with layers of atoms forming a hexagonal pattern. cubic lattices crystal structures
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face-centred cubic structure

crystalline form
Also known as: fcc structure
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Diagram showing three common metallic crystal structures: body-centred cubic with one atom at the center, face-centred cubic with atoms at each face and corner, and hexagonal close-packed with layers of atoms forming a hexagonal pattern.
The commonest metallic crystal structures.

The face-centered cubic (fcc) structure is a type of crystal lattice arrangement where atoms are arranged in a cubic unit cell with an atom at each corner and in the center of each face. This structure is one of the most compact ways to stack atomic spheres, filling 74 percent of the volume and resulting in each atom having 12 neighbors.12

Many common metals, such as copper, silver, and gold, crystallize in an fcc lattice. This structure is also found in some rare gas solids like neon, argon, krypton, and xenon. Crystalline solids, including metals, have a highly ordered, periodic atomic arrangement, distinguishing them from amorphous solids like glasses and plastics.23

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3 Britannica Sources
  1. crystal - Structures of metals
  2. face-centered
  3. solid

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