New Frontiers in Materials Synthesis and Characterization

The availability of ever higher performance materials is a crucial prerequisite to progress in any field of modern technology. Commonly followed approaches in materials sciences to meet such requirements are to optimize and advance known materials, in this way also extending their range of application. Discovery of new materials, however, bears the potential to generate new properties and exotic phenomena, and can initiate dramatic advances in technological innovations as well as in basic science. The synthesis of new solid materials is one of the basic tasks of Solid State Chemistry, and will constitute the principal topic of the 2009 GRC on “Solid State Chemistry”. In the field of synthesis, new achievements are allowing more control, and more targeted approaches that go beyond the classical “shake and bake” approaches and conventional precursor routes. Greater synthetic control can be gained by a variety of emerging approaches. These include effectively managing the boundary conditions during syntheses via ablation techniques, through deposition of solids from the gas phase, the use of low temperature techniques using solvents/fluxes, building block approaches or by employing extreme conditions with respect to temperature and pressure. For example, significant progress has been achieved in monitoring the initial stages of structure formation. However, there is still a long way to go for a full understanding and control of the relevant processes, which would be indispensable for running fully targeted materials syntheses.

In characterization, it has remained an intriguing challenge to determine the structures of materials across all length-scales, in particular to investigate all kinds of “non-ideal” crystalline structural properties. Such complete structural information would be the basis for any microscopic understanding of a material’s functions. What has so far been a widely neglected issue is time-dependent phenomena. With the new x-ray laser facilities presently under construction, an enormous increase in spatial-temporal resolution will become available. Special sessions will be devoted to this main theme of the conference. In addition, hot topics from all fields of solid state chemistry will be covered.

The conference will have the renowned idea-stimulating Gordon conference format, and in addition, from the submitted posters the most innovative ones will be selected and invited for short oral presentation.