The combination of solid materials of different structural dimensionality with atomic or molecular guest species via intercalation processes represents a unique and widely variable low temperature synthesis strategy for the design of solids with particular composition, structure and physical properties. In the last decade this field has experienced a rapid development and represents now an established specific domain of solid state research and materials science. Substantial progress has been made with respect to an understanding of the complex relationship between structure, bonding,...

Kratschmer and Huffman's revolutionary discovery of a new solid phase of carbon, solid C60, in 1990 opened the way to an entire new class of materials with physical properties so diverse that their richness has not yet been fully exploited. Moreover, as a by-product of fullerene research, carbon nanotubes were later identified, from which novel nanostructures originated that are currently fascinating materials scientists worldwide. Rivers of words have been written on both fullerenes and nanotubes, in the form of journal articles, conference proceedings and books. The present book offers, in...

Modulated crystals have been intensively investigated over the past several years and it is now evident that an understanding of their crystallography and microstructure is fundamental to the elucidation of the physical properties and phase transitions in these materials. This book brings together for the first time the crystallographic descriptions and experimental methods for the structural and microstructural analysis of modulated crystals as described by well-known researchers in the various areas. The emphasis is on charge density wave modulations, and the detailed analysis of ...

1.1. THE DISCOVERY OF CARBYNE Yu.P. KUDRYA VTSEV A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute ofOrganoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117813 Moscow, Russia Abstract - The history of the discovery of carbyne is briefly recalled. The existence of carbyne was first disclosed by Russian researchers in 1960. It was obtained for the first time via oxidative dehydropolycondensation of acetylene based on the Glaser coupling of ethynyl compounds. 1. Introduction The polymeric nature of carbon was first pointed out by Mendeleev. He wrote: "The molecules of coal, graphite, and diamond are very complicated,...

In Bird of Passage by Rudolf Peierls, we find a paragraph in which he de scribes his Cambridge days in the 1930s: On these relativistic field theory] problems my main contacts were Dirac, and the younger theoreticians. These included in particular Nevill (now Sir Nevill) Mott, perhaps the friendliest among many kind and friendly people we met then. Professor Kamimura became associated with Sir Rudolf Peierls in the 1950s, when he translated, with his colleagues, Peierls's 1955 textbook, Quantum Theory of Solids, into Japanese. This edition, to which Sir Rudolf himself contributed a preface,...

The history of low dimensional conductors goes back to the prediction, more than forty years ago, by Peierls, of the instability of a one dimensional metallic chain, leading to what is known now as the charge density wave state. At the same time, Frohlich suggested that an "ideal" conductivity could be associated to the sliding of this charge density wave. Since then, several classes of compounds, including layered transition metal dichalcogenides, quasi one-dimensional organic conduc- tors and transition metal tri- and tretrachalcogenides have been extensively studied. The molybdenum bronzes...

In the last two decades low-dimensional (low-d) physics has matured into a major branch of science. Quite generally we may define a system with restricted dimensionality d as an object that is infinite only in one or two spatial directions (d = 1 and 2). Such a definition comprises isolated single chains or layers, but also fibres and thin layers (films) of varying but finite thickness. Clearly, a multitude of physical phenomena, notably in solid state physics, fall into these categories. As examples, we may mention: Magnetic chains or layers (thin-film technology). Metallic films...

This volume on the novelties in the electronic properties of solids appears in occasion of Franco Bassani sixtieth birthday, and is dedicated to honour a scientific activity which has contributed so much of the development of this very active area of research. It is re- markable that this book can cover so large a part of the current research on electronic properties of solids by contributions from Bassani's former students, collaborators at different stages of his scientific life, and physicists from all over the world who have been in close scientific relationship with him. A personal...