Stoichiometry And Materials Science

The aim of this book is to provide an overview on the importance of stoichiometry in the materials science field. It presents a collection of selected research articles and reviews providing up-to-date information related to stoichiometry at various levels. Being materials science an interdisciplinary area, the book has been divided in multiple sections, each for a specific field of applications. The first two sections introduce the role of stoichiometry in nanotechnology and defect chemistry, providing examples of state-of-the-art technologies. Section three and four are focused on intermetallic compounds and metal oxides. Section five describes the importance of stoichiometry in electrochemical applications. In section six new strategies for solid phase synthesis are reported, while a cross sectional approach to the influence of stoichiometry in energy production is the topic of the last section. Though specifically addressed to readers with a background in physical science, I believe this book will be of interest to researchers working in materials science, engineering and technology.

The aim of this book is to provide an overview on the importance of stoichiometry in the materials science field. It presents a collection of selected research articles and reviews providing up-to-date information related to stoichiometry at various levels. Being materials science an interdisciplinary area, the book has been divided in multiple sections, each for a specific field of applications. The first two sections introduce the role of stoichiometry in nanotechnology and defect chemistry, providing examples of state-of-the-art technologies. Section three and four are focused on intermetallic compounds and metal oxides. Section five describes the importance of stoichiometry in electrochemical applications. In section six new strategies for solid phase synthesis are reported, while a cross sectional approach to the influence of stoichiometry in energy production is the topic of the last section. Though specifically addressed to readers with a background in physical science, I believe this book will be of interest to researchers working in materials science, engineering and technology.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the relevance of stoichiometry in the field of material engineering. It compiles various researches and reviews offering latest information regarding stoichiometry at different levels. The book covers various applications of stoichiometry, such as the role of stoichiometry in nanotechnology, defect chemistry and electrochemical applications. It also discusses intermetallic compounds and metal oxides. The book also elucidates latest methods for solid phase synthesis and the impact of stoichiometry in energy production. This book will be helpful to engineers, academicians and scientists working in the field of materials science.

The characterization of materials and phenomena has historically been the principal limitation to the development in each area of science. Once what we are observing is well defined, a theoretical analysis rapidly follows. Modern theories of chemical bonding did not evolve until the methods of analytical chemistry had progressed to a point where the bulk stoichiometry of chemical compounds was firmly established. The great progress made during this century in understanding chemistry has followed directly from the development of an analytical chemistry based on the Dalton assumption of multiple proportions. It has only become apparent in recent years that the extension of our understanding of materials hinges on their non-stoichiometric nature. The world of non-Daltonian chemistry is very poorly understood at present because of our lack of ability to precisely characterize it. The emergence of materials science has only just occurred with our recognition of effects, which have been thought previously to be minor variations from ideality, as the principal phenomena controlling properties. The next step in the historical evolution of materials science must be the development of tools to characterize the often subtle phenomena which determine properties of materials. The various discussions of instrumental techniques presented in this book are excellent summaries for the state-of-the-art of materials characterization at this rather critical stage of materials science. The application of the tools described here, and those yet to be developed, holds the key to the development of this infant into a mature science.

The material in this book is based on invited and contributed pa pers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on INon-stoichio l metric Compounds held in Ringberg Castle, Rottach-Egern (Bavarian Alps), Germany, July 3-9, 1988. The workshop followed previous meetings held in Mogilany, Poland (1980), Alenya, France (1982), Penn State, USA (1984) and Keele University, UK (1986). The aim of these workshops is to present and discuss up-to-date knowledge in the study of non-stoichiometry and its effect on materials properties as well as to indicate the most urgent research pathways required in this field. Since the subject of non-stoichiometry is interdisciplinary, the workshops bring together solid state physicists and chemists, surface scientists, materials scientists, ceramists and metallurgists. The present workshop, which gathered 42 scientists of an inter national reputation, mainly considered the effect of surfaces, grain boundaries and structural defects on materials properties. From discus sions during this meeting it emerged that correct understanding of properties of ceramic materials requires urgent studies on the defect structure of the interface region. Progress in this direction requires the development of the interface defect chemistry. This is the task for materials scientists in the near future. The present proceedings includes both theoretical and experimen tal work on general aspects of non-stoichiometry, defect structure and diffusion in relation to the bulk and to the interface region of such materials as high tech ceramics, solid electrolytes, electronic cera mics, nuclear materials and high Tc oxide superconductors.

The knowledge about crystal structure and its correlation with physical properties is the prerequisite for designing new materials with taylored properties. This work provides for researchers and graduates a valuable resource on various techniques for crystal structure determinations. By discussing a broad range of different materials and tools the authors enable the understanding of why a material might be suitable for a particular application.

This text takes a practical approach to its presentation of stoichiometry and energy-balance principles for materials engineering students by emphasizing their use in actual engineering practice.