Innovative mixed-anion approach to design materials with optical and selective ionic conduction properties

Because the Earth’s atmosphere contains mainly reactive oxygen (and inert nitrogen), conventional inorganic syntheticmaterials are mostly oxides.

From the research point of view, the 20th century was a prosperous era in the field of solid-statechemistry with discoveries of many inorganic oxide compounds that laid strong foundations of materials synthesis andcharacterization.

The impressive development of oxides followed by other single-anion compounds, such as fluorides,nitrides, and chlorides is mainly due to their stability and ease of synthesis.

Nevertheless, after a century of intensiveresearch both conventional solid-state techniques and numerous combinations of metals (or cations) are reaching a pointwhere they have been exhausted, which makes further development of new single-anion inorganic materials more and moredifficult.

Consequently, today, compounds with multiple anions beyond the single-oxide ion composition, offer a newplayground for materials development where greater functionality can be found.

Besides, unlike oxides, which exhibitchemistry and structures often known from mineralogy, the structures of most mixed-anion compounds are yet less exploredwith much more to learn.The aim of this project it to show how the mixed-anion approach will be beneficial to many fields of solid-state chemistry andhow the candidate and the host researcher will apply it to the topics tackled by the host group: materials with opticalproperties and selective ionic conductivity.

On the one hand, the candidate experience in oxide-derived materials and on theother hand, the host researcher expertise in the fluorine-derived materials will allow a broad prospection of new compoundsand consequently functional materials with new properties.

Finally, the combined efforts of the candidate and the hostresearcher is to expand the whole group topic from ""chemistry and photonic of oxide and fluoride materials"" to ""chemistryand photonic of mixed-anion materials"".