It is increasingly recognized that progress in the preparation of novel material requires the development of new synthetic techniques. The ceramic method (cycles of grinding one or more materials and heating) is relatively crude when compared to the sophisticated methodologies available in organic synthesis. The synthesis of organic compounds relies primarily on group-by-group assembly of the whole molecule. In contrast, the formation of inorganic materials by ceramic methods is controlled by diffusion of ionic and atomic species through both reactants and products. Aware of the limitations of the ceramic method as a technique for the production of advanced materials, increasing efforts have been directed towards the development of mild chemistry-based approaches that occur at low temperatures. These methods, loosely grouped under the name "chemie douce" (soft-chemistry), pay close attention to the structure, stability, and mechanisms of product formation
New Routes to Materials
Ambient Growth of Inorganic Thin Films
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