Inorganic Nonstoichiometric Crystalline Systems and Atomic Ordering

Solid-state NMR offers much as a probe of atomic-scale disorder in crystalline inorganic materials. Many other standard characterization techniques can have significant difficulty in describing the subtleties of local atomic ordering, which can often have profound effects on a material's properties. The short-range sensitivity of NMR, usually via the chemical shift interaction, means NMR can readily distinguish different local configurations. Atomic disorder within an overall crystalline lattice is explored for both stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric compositions. Examples of solid solutions where chemical composition drives properties, such as through the introduction of vacancies in solid oxide ion conductors, are examined, including detection and quantification of order/disorder within materials. Examples are taken from a wide range of inorganic materials, to include structural ceramics, minerals, solid electrolytes, biomaterials, and ferroelectrics. © 2009 by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.