Thanks to all who have contributed to this page, including:
Nathan Applegren, Marissa Becker, Robert Bailey, Ellen Freidinger, Matt Hehn, Jordan Hill, Kylee Korte, Joel Kouakou, Josiah Miller, Phuong Nguyen, Lauren Obermaier, Rachelle Snopko, Stacy Swanson, Richard Villarreal, Jefferson West, Elizabeth Williamson
The following list links to building instructions for a number of models of unit cells and other structures at the atomic scale. Most instruction sets follow the same format. At the top of each set of instructions is a picture of LEGO® units representing atoms or ions for that structure (remember other brick arrangements representing atoms are certainly possible). Following that is a series of pictures showing a layer-by-layer assembly sequence of the atoms and other support structures in the unit cell. The pictures show each individual layer of atoms starting from the bottom layer and building up. This is called the layer sequence for the unit cell. Squares drawn over the pictures depict unit cell boundaries. Intermediate layers are given fractional values such as Z=1/2. In addition to the layer sequence, there are pictures depicting the building-up of the unit cell as each layer is added.
Simple (primitive) cubic structures (example: polonium) - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Body-centered cubic structure (example: alpha-iron) - Whole atoms with fractional atoms highlighted
Face-centered cubic structure (example: copper, silver, gold, gamma iron; see also the inverse opal structures below) - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Hexagonal close-packed structure (example:) - Whole atoms
Cubic close-packed structure (example:) - Whole atoms
Comparison of hexagonal close-packed, cubic close-packed, and face-centered cubic structures - Whole atoms
Rocksalt structure (example: sodium chloride) - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Cesium chloride structure - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Diamond structure (examples: carbon, silicon, germanium) - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms for two unit cells
Diamond vs Lonsdaleite (both forms of carbon) - Whole atoms
Graphite (form of carbon) - Whole atoms
C60 and C70 buckminsterfullerenes (form of carbon) - Whole atoms
Carbon nanotube ("zig-zag" form) - Whole atoms
Zinc blende structure (examples: zinc sulfide, cadmium sulfide, gallium arsenide) - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Fluorite structure (examples: calcium fluoride) - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Rutile structure (examples: titanium(IV) oxide) - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Perovskite structure (example: calcium titanate) - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Yttrium barium copper oxide (superconductor) - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Copper mercury iodide (low temperature phase) structure - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Copper mercury iodide (high temperature phase) structure - Whole atoms, Fractional atoms
Magnetite (inverse spinel) - Fractional large ions (whole atom structure also described), Small whole ions
Nickel titanium (nitinol, memory metal) alloy (low temperature phase) - Whole atoms smaller cell, Whole atoms larger cell
Nickel titanium (nitinol, memory metal) alloy (high temperature phase) - Whole atoms
Nickel titanium (nitinol, memory metal) alloy - Comparison of low and high temperature phases
Quartz (crystalline and amorphous) - Whole atoms
Ice - Whole atoms for Ih phase (normal phase), Whole atoms for Ic phase (a low temperature phase)
Arsenic - Whole atoms
Nitrogen - Whole atoms
Iodine - Whole atoms
Phosphorus (white, red, and black allotropes) - Whole atoms
Sulfur (rhombic/orthorhombic and monoclinic phases) - Whole atoms
Selenium (trigonal phase) - Whole atoms
Organic structures (examples: ethanol, soap, chiral structures) - Whole atoms
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET, #1) - Whole atoms
High-density polyethylene (HDPE, #2) - Whole atoms
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC, #3) - Whole atoms
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE, #4) - Whole atoms
Polypropylene (PP, #5) - Whole atoms
Polystyrene (PS, #6 - includes examples of tacticity) - Whole atoms
Polydimethylsiloxane (includes example of a crosslinking reaction) - Whole atoms
Nylon-6,6 - Whole atoms
Polypeptide (protein) - Whole atoms
Cellulose - Whole atoms
Nanokid (TM) (person-shaped molecule developed at Rice University) - Whole atoms
Face-centered cubic inverse opal structures (represented spheres are actually larger than molecular-scale structures) - Separated spheres, Touching spheres
Atomic orbitals (examples: s, p, d) - Hybridized and not hybridized