OVERVIEW

The course in Inorganic Solid-State Chemistry provides theoretical and practical tools to understand and describe the structure of inorganic crystalline solids, with particular emphasis on the relationships between symmetry, chemical bonding, and material properties. The course introduces the use of the International Tables for Crystallography and provides the fundamental concepts for understanding the electronic structure and bonding in crystalline solids. Through lectures and guided practical sessions using dedicated software and databases, students develop the ability to analyze, classify, and independently construct consistent crystallochemical descriptions of inorganic solids.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to develop the ability to: interpret and apply the International Tables for Crystallography for the description of crystalline structures; understand the theoretical foundations of the major techniques for the investigation of electronic structure and chemical bonding in periodic solids; classify and analyze inorganic materials in terms of bonding, structure, and properties; develop descriptions of inorganic crystalline solids by integrating acquired knowledge of symmetry, structural analysis, and chemical bonding.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide both theoretical and practical tools for analyzing and understanding the crystal structure of different families of inorganic solids, with particular attention to the correlation between structure and type of chemical bonding.

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• understand the structure and notation of the International Tables for Crystallography, particularly Volume A;
• apply the International Tables to describe crystalline structures;
• classify inorganic compounds on the basis of their constituent elements and hence the predominant type of chemical bonding;
• describe the fundamental theoretical models used to study and understand the electronic structure and chemical bonding in crystalline inorganic compounds;
• use databases to retrieve structural, chemical and physical data on materials, as well as software for visualizing and analyzing crystal structures and for performing basic electronic‑structure calculations;
• independently construct, given a chemical formula, a coherent crystallochemical description by integrating the use of databases and software tools with the concepts of symmetry, structural analysis and chemical bonding acquired during the course.

PREREQUISITES

There are no specific requirements.

TEACHING METHODS

The course comprises a total of 6 ECTS credits, of which 4 are devoted to in-class lectures and 2 to practical sessions carried out using a computer. The latter activities are designed to deepen the concepts introduced during the lectures through exercises, the study of real crystal structures, and the use of software commonly employed in research. Attendance at the practical sessions is compulsory, and upon their completion students are required to submit an individual written report.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Crystal structure, unit cell, lattice planes and crystallographic directions. Hermann–Mauguin notation. Point and space symmetry elements and operations; crystallographic point groups and crystal systems. Bravais lattices. Conventional, primitive and Wigner–Seitz cells. Wallpaper and space groups. International Tables for Crystallography, with particular reference to volume A. Group–subgroup relationships. Interatomic distances and their analysis. Definition and methods for the identification of coordination polyhedra.

Reciprocal lattice, Bloch functions and crystal orbitals; band structure in one, two and three dimensions, density of states. Introduction to some of the main techniques and indicators for the study of chemical bonding.

Van Arkel–Ketelaar triangle. Description of close-packed crystal structures in terms of plane stacking; interstitial sites and their coordination. Intermetallic phases: definition and classification. Description of selected families of intermetallics, such as Laves phases, Hume–Rothery phases, and Haucke phases. Zintl phases. Structures derived from AlB2 and BaAl4.

Description of some of the main typically ionic structures and their rationalization in terms of ionic radii and Pauling’s rules. Classical approaches to the study of bonding and stability: Madelung energy, Born–Mayer and Kapustinskii equations.

Description of selected typically covalent structures, such as diamond, graphite, boron, and tellurium. Diamondoid compounds and structures. Structural analysis of selected inorganic molecular solids, with particular reference to coordination compounds.

The practical exercises will focus on: symmetry and space groups; close-packed structures and coordination; description of structure and its relationship with chemical bonding in various families of inorganic compounds. During the exercises, students will learn to use databases and software for searching, visualizing, and analysing crystal structures, such as Springer Materials, VESTA and the Bilbao Crystallographic Server.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Antony R. West, Solid State Chemistry and its Applications, Wiley.

Ulrich Müller, Inorganic Structural Chemistry, Wiley.

Frank Hoffmann, Introduction to Crystallography, Springer.

Charles Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, Wiley.

R. Ferro & A. Saccone, Intermetallic Chemistry, Pergamon Materials Series.

Richard Dronskowski, Computational Chemistry of Solid State Materials, Wiley.

The slides used during the lectures will be made available on the course’s Aulaweb page.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

According to the timetable reported here 

Class schedule

SOLID STATE INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of an oral examination covering the topics included in the course syllabus. The examination opens with a computer-assisted question; this initial phase is therefore designed to assess the practical skills developed during laboratory sessions, as well as the student's ability to derive, from a given formula, a coherent crystal-chemical description by integrating the use of crystallographic databases and software with the concepts of symmetry, structural analysis, and chemical bonding acquired throughout the course.

The oral exam is conducted by two faculty members, who are responsible for the evaluation.

For students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (SLD), please refer to the “Further Information” section.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Using the procedures described above, and given that at least one of the two instructors has several years of experience in conducting examinations in the subject area, the examination board is able to assess with a high degree of accuracy whether the learning objectives of the course have been achieved. When these objectives are not met, students are encouraged to deepen their study and to seek further clarification from the course instructor.The Degree Program Board (CCS) ensures alignment between the examination content and the topics actually covered during the course. To this end, at the beginning of the teaching period, the course instructor publishes the detailed syllabus on a dedicated online platform (“Aula Web”) reserved for faculty and students of the University. Furthermore, at the end of the course, the teaching log is made available on a website accessible to CCS members and student representatives. This process also enables students to verify compliance with these requirements.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Compensatory and dispensatory measures Disability/Invalidity/Specific Learning Disorder

Dispensatory measures and compensatory tools are intended to enable students to achieve the same learning objectives as their fellow students, not to facilitate the examination.

The use of compensatory tools and the application of dispensatory measures must be authorised in advance by the teacher in agreement with the Referee.

To take advantage of the adaptations during the examination, fill in the Adaptation request form; the request will be automatically sent by the system to the teacher in charge of the teaching, to the Contact Person of your School/Area/Department and in copy to the Sector; you will also receive a copy of the request sent by e-mail.

The adjustments available to students are as follows:

• Additional time (+30% DSA)
• Additional time (+50% disability/invalidity)
• Additional time during oral exams to organise the answer
• Calculator (programmable and graphing calculators are not allowed)
• Conceptual Maps
• Tables and/or Forms
• Take the exam in written form
• Take the exam in oral form
• Tutor reader (for written tests only)
• Tutor-writer (for written tests only)

Your request for adaptations must be submitted at least 7 working days before the scheduled exam date.

All information for students with disabilities and DSA is available on the webpage: Services for students with disabilities or DSA | UniGe | University of Genoa

Reference for inclusion: Sergio Di Domizio - sergio.didomizio@unige.it