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Within a lattice of two (or more) anions, the property carrying cations might find themselves in a strange surrounding (coordination) with more than one type of anion as neighbors (heteroleptic). If the two different anions also have large size difference, the cation will be pushed away from the charge neutral center into a polar coordination (see figure), making the situation different from normality (homoleptic). By making the coordination polar, instead of normal, the cations might exhibit very different properties.
The thermodynamics of bi-anion systems can be very complex, far beyond what is predictable with the tools at hand. Hence, we are usually exploring what can be found in the samples that we prepare and react. The reactions can, for the reasons of unpredictability, have to be carefully optimized. Moreover, many of the starting materials are air- and moist-sensitive, making sample preparation and investigations challenging, but not impossible. This, truly fundamental chemistry is an exploration into the unknown, and several of our findings have been received by the science community with overwhelming interest.
The material properties of interest are optics, magnetism, conductivity, and combinations thereof. Some of our compounds show properties that need to be further understood or are quite unique. The main focus of our investigations is to use crystallographic information, i.e. how the atomic lattice is built up, and to try to connect material property to certain details in the atomic arrangement (crystal structure).
Naturally, all findings are motivated by public needs and demands, but the explorative chemistry is still unpredictable, which makes it even more interesting and fun.
For more information, please contact Martin Valldor