Preface

The goal of this book is to provide a broad coverage of the core concepts required for a course on materials chemistry at the masters and doctoral degree levels. It is written and organized in a novel style, focusing on a sequential presentation of ideas, concepts, and theories, in a hierarchical manner; the telescoping approach unravels concepts in increasing detail. Graphical illustrations are employed liberally to complement and supplement the analytical arguments and physical models.

The content selection is based on the Chemistry of Materials course that I have been involved in designing, teaching, and updating for three decades. The coverage is intended to provide essential physical and chemical insights into the basic structural and defect aspects of materials, fundamental ideas related to their thermal, electrical, magnetic and optical attributes, and a general introduction to synthesis and fabrication techniques. Since materials science and chemistry encompass ever-evolving themes, this book may be supplemented with discussions of selected materials suited to emerging scenarios; the Postface elaborates further on this point, and the Exercises chapter provides glimpses of possible directions.

I have strived to ensure that the text and graphics are error-free, and would be grateful if any errors noticed while reading this book are brought to my attention. Thank you.

T. P. Radhakrishnan

Hyderabad