This book presents the highlights of modern solid state chemistry, an
emerging area of chemical science. In adopting a unified and up-to-date
approach the authors take the reader to the very frontiers of the
subject, which is concerned primarily with new methods of synthesis,
identification and characterization of solids, and above all with new
strategies for tailor-making materials with desirable and controllable
properties. The eight chapters are devoted to structure, methods of
characterization, preparative strategies, phase transitions, defects and
non-stoichiometry, structure-property relations, materials design, and
reactivity of solids. Each of these reflects the way solid state
chemistry is growing today and brings out the flavour of the subject to
show how it works. In addition, every chapter ends with a list of
important references.