THE ROLE OF THE INDUCTIVE EFFECT IN SOLID-STATE CHEMISTRY - HOW THE CHEMIST CAN USE IT TO MODIFY BOTH THE STRUCTURAL AND THE PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIALS

The concept of the inductive effect, which is well known in organic chemistry. has been extended to solid-state chemistry. In solid ternary compounds, the cohesion energy of which primarily results from the electrostatic interaction between one type of anion X(q-) and two types of cations M(m+) and T(z+), the inductive effect of T on the M X bond has been qualitatively assessed by the difference of electronegativity between M and T atoms, showing the limits of this concept. Several correlations between the inductive effect of the countercation T and physicochemical properties depending on the covalent character of the M-X bond have been reviewed: structural modification of oxides, stabilization of unusually high oxidation states of 3d transition elements in oxides and fluorides, vitrification conditions of materials, electrical conductivity of some perovskite oxides, cationic conductivity, magnetic properties, optical properties of divalent europium, Fe3+/Fe2+ redox potential position in inorganic isostructural compounds and Mossbauer isomer shifts in FeOx and FeFn polyhedra.