Although solid state science is an area of intense research activity pursued by physicists and materials scientists, the contributions of chemists to this area have a distinct identity. The great skill of chemists in developing novel methods for the synthesis of complex materials, and their understanding of the intricacies of structure and bonding, make their contributions to solid state science unique. At the present time, solid state chemistry is mainly concerned with the development of new methods of synthesis, new ways of identifying and characterizing materials and of describing their structure and above all, with new strategies for tailor-making materials with desired and controllable properties be they electronic, magnetic, dielectric, optical, adsorptive or catalytic. It is heartening that solid state chemistry is increasingly coming to be recognized as an emerging area of chemical science.

In this monograph, we have attempted to present the highlights of modern solid state chemistry and indicate the new directions in a concise manner. In doing so, we have not described the varied principles, properties and techniques that embody this subject at length, but have concerned ourselves with the more important task of bringing out the flavour of the subject to show how it works. We believe that the material covered is up to date, taking the reader to the very frontiers of the subject. We have been careful to include some introductory material for each aspect in order to enable students and beginners to benefit from the book.