The Seventh International Conference on Inorganic Materials is the latest in a series of interdisciplinary conferences devoted to all aspects of inorganic materials research. Over the last decade there has been a dramatic growth of interest in inorganic materials that exhibit unusual properties which may lead to new applications. Following on from the success of previous events in the series the meeting will provide an opportunity to highlight recent developments and to identify emerging and future areas of growth in this exciting field.

The conference will comprise six sessions – one in each of the following areas:

• Solid-state chemistry – oxides and intermetallics
• Materials for energy conversion and storage
• Multiferroic materials
• Multifunctional materials
• New high T_c superconductors
• Nanomaterials (focusing on nano-effects)

Solid state chemistry - oxides and intermetallics

Oxides and intermetallics are very important material families both for fundamental research and applications. New results related to original synthesis methods, structure and physical properties are welcome. As surface properties are very important for numerous applications, the relation between surface and the bulk properties must also be considered. Computational works by ab initio methods are also included.

Materials for energy conversion and storage

The very challenging areas of energy storage (batteries and supercapacitors) and energy transformation (thermoelectric, magnetocaloric, solid oxide fuel cells) will be covered from the materials point of view. A special focus on the relation between the structure, the composition and the electronic properties of new materials is expected.

Multiferroic materials

The coexistence of ferroelectricity and magnetic ordering is a challenging problem for solid-state scientists.  Type II multiferroics exhibiting spin-induced ferroelectricity, composites and multilayers provide different routes to realisation of magnetoelectric coupling. Original contributions in this field, from new materials – synthesis and symmetry – to the characterization of physical properties, are all welcome in order to advance the state of the art on this hot topic.

Multifunctional materials

The co-existence and eventually the coupling between several properties in a given material require two strategies: the design of composites for mixing several functionalities or the search for advanced bulk compounds. Deep solid-state chemistry is involved in both cases from the chemical compatibility among different phases to the understanding of complex physical properties in pure compounds. Several fields of interest will be addressed: tuning of properties under external stresses (pressure, electric or magnetic field), materials for spintronics, hybrids for sensing and actuating, multi-layers in integrated devices.

New High T_c superconductors

The discovery of superconductivity in iron-pnictides exhibiting 2D structures has opened a new research field for those interested in superconductivity. The complex interplay between magnetism and superconductivity can be tuned by doping in that materials and the T_c optimum is also found to depend on the regularity of the conducting planes. Contributions are solicited which look at recent developments in these new superconductors and related compounds, the relationship between structure and properties, and also comparisons with high T_c cuprates.

Nanomaterials (focusing on nano-effects)

Decreasing the size of materials below 10 nm is at the same time a challenge for the chemist and a route towards new properties. While some fields have already found their maturity, like plasmonics in nano-metals, some open questions remain highly controversial. Critical sizes for the suppression of ferromagnetic or ferroelectric order and surface or interface stress contribution are among these. The control of defects at extended surfaces in nanomaterials is a key towards the understanding of unusual properties in many nanomaterials like oxides, nitrides or carbides. This will be one of the major topics of this session.