Solid state chemistry is concerned with the design, synthesis and characterisation of advanced inorganic materials with novel physical and chemical properties, and the understanding of the interplay of structure, composition and properties. The type of functional materials being studied in our group is wide-ranging, and currently includes ferroelectrics, magnetic materials, multiferroics and porous solids. Synthetic efforts are focused on a range of mixed metal oxides, fluorides and also hybrid materials, the latter using solvothermal techniques and organic ‘templates’. Detailed structural characterisation is central to our philosophy, for which we use X-ray and neutron diffraction, both in-house and at central facilities in the UK and France. We have a variety of collaborations in order to measure the chosen functional properties, from which we can understand the key structure-property relationships and hence feedback in to the synthetic program to prepare ‘better’ materials. Recent highlights have included the elucidation of unusual structural mechanisms for ferroelectricity in perovskite oxides and the development of a vast range of new hybrid fluorides with interesting magnetic and optical properties.

Left:The ferroelectric and paraelectric phases of the important multiferroic BiFeO₃.
Right: The corresponding displacement of the Fe³⁺ cation.

Above: A new luminescent lanthanide fluoride crystal

SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS

1. The ferroelectric – paraelectric transition in BiFeO₃: crystal structure of the orthorhombic? β-phase, D. C. Arnold, K. S. Knight, F. D. Morrison and P. Lightfoot, Phys. Rev. Lett., 2009, 102, 027602.
2. Proton conductivity in the predicted ferroelectric CsBiNb2O7, R. J. Goff, D. Keeble, P. A. Thomas, C. Ritter, F. D. Morrison and P. Lightfoot, Chem. Mater., 2009, 21, 1296-1302.
3. A new hybrid framework material based on a ‘superoctahedral’ [V7O6F30]14- polyanion, T. Mahenthirarajah and P. Lightfoot, Chem. Commun., 2008,1401-1403.
4. 4. Organic-inorganic hybrid chains and layers constructed from copper-amine cations and early transition metal (Nb, Mo) oxyfluoride anions, T. Mahenthirarajah, Y. Li and P. Lightfoot, Dalton Trans., 2009, 3280-3285.
5. Hydrothermal synthesis and luminescent properties of a new family of organically-templated lanthanide fluorides, A. C. A. Jayasundera, A. A. Finch, P. D. Townsend and P. Lightfoot, J. Mater. Chem., 17, 2007, 4178-4183.