Solid-state chemistry is becoming increasingly important as its relevance is recognized in subjects as diverse as superconductivity and heterogeneous catalysis. There has been a long-felt need for an authoritative account of the properties of inorganic solids and of the methods for studying them, written at a level suitable for final-year undergraduates studying the subject as a special topic or for first-year graduate students embarking on research in the field. This and the previous volume aim to fill that gap.

This second volume deals with the electronic structure and bonding in solids, and then focuses on several important classes of inorganic compounds.

Making and studying solids is a rapidly expanding branch of chemistry. Solid-state chemistry is becoming more and more important as its relevance is recognized to subjects as diverse as optoelectronics and heterogeneous catalysis. There has long been felt a need for an authoritative account of the properties of inorganic solids and of the methods for studying them, written at a level suitable for final-year undergraduates studying the subject as a special topic or for first-year graduate students embarking on research in the field. This and a forthcoming volume will fill that gap. The present volume - now made available in paperback for the first time - concentrates on methods for preparing solids and studying their structures and physical properties, while the other will survey compounds with particularly important or useful properties.