Question

What is the difference between a primitive unit cell and a conventional unit cell?

Answer 1

conventional unit cell of a lattice is one that contains the same point group symmetries as the overall lattice and is the smallest such cell.

Primitive unit cells contain only one lattice point, which is made up from the lattice points at each of the corners. Non-primitive unit cells contain additional lattice points, either on a face of the unit cell or within the unit cell, and so have more than one lattice point per unit cell.

Answer 2

Answer:

A definition of a conventional unit cell of a lattice is one that contains the same point group symmetries as the overall lattice and is the smallest such cell. Primitive unit cells contain only one lattice point, which is made up from the lattice points at each of the corners.