New Trends in Materials Chemistry : Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Il Ciocco, Lucca, Italy

Materials chemistry is a growing interdisciplinary field which interfaces with and draws from many disciplines including solid state chemistry and physics, materials science and crystallography. This volume provides a review of the main techniques and topical materials presented by leading workers in the field. The survey of techniques includes in-depth coverage of diffraction, microscopy, NMR and IR spectroscopic methods; and special emphasis is given to the growing role of computational and theoretical techniques. The development of new materials with specific applications is a major feature of contemporary materials chemistry. Later chapters of the book emphasize ionic conductors, superconductors, colossal magneto-resistance materials and catalytic systems (including micro- and meso-porous materials), to which several chapters are devoted. Synthetic aspects of the field are also emphasized. This comprehensive survey of the field should be of interest to research workers in the area of materials chemistry or related disciplines. It should also serve as an introduction to the field for graduate students.