Spotlight Collection: Mixed-Anion Compounds

Mixed-anion or heteroanion compounds are single-phase materials in which the cations are bonded to more than just one kind of anion. By controlling the anion composition, structural, electric, optical, thermal, electrochemical, and catalytic properties can be effectively modified. Such materials are currently attracting increasing attention as tunable functional materials in applications ranging from electronics and optics to catalysis and energy conversion, and beyond. For various applications and research targets, the mixed-anion materials are synthesised in powder, single-crystal and thin-film forms via diverse synthesis approaches, often supported by advanced theoretical calculations.

This Dalton Transactions Spotlight collection, guest edited by Dalton Transactions Associate Editor Professor Maarit Karppinen (Aalto University, Finland), Professor Simon Clarke (University of Oxford, UK) and Professor Teruki Motohashi (Kanagawa University, Japan), aims to highlight the recent advances in the area of mixed-anion compounds. The collection will cover compounds such as oxynitrides, oxyhalides, mixed chalcogenides and other inorganic compounds incorporating molecular anions (with [SCN]-, [NCN]2-, [BH4]-, [S2]2- etc.) and their diverse applications across energy, catalysis, electronics and more.