Synthetic methodologies

The great variety of inorganic materials and the fact that they comprise elements with widely varying chemistry, drawn from every corner of the periodic table, imply that there will always be the need for myriad ways to make materials. We describe, in this chapter, some general routes for the preparation of inorganic solids, emphasizing recent advances. We particularly emphasize developing an understanding of the preparation of solids through in situ studies, which oftentimes reveal the role of fugitive intermediates phases, that may not be recognized at the outset as playing a role in reaching the target material. Many recent examples of topochemical conversions of solids are also presented. The long-held goal of atom-by-atom control of the preparation of complex materials is bearing fruit, and some examples of these are presented. These atom-by-atom routes show no sign of displacing more traditional preparative methods because of issues of generality and scale