Book Description

This volume of the Handbook adds five new chapters to the science of rare earths. Two of the chapters deal with intermetallic compounds. An overview of ternary systems containing rare earths, transition metals and indium - Chapter 218 - opens the volume. It is followed by Chapter 219 sorting out relationships between superconductivity and magnetism. The next two chapters are dedicated to complex compounds of rare earths: Chapter 220 describes structural studies using circularly polarized luminescence spectroscopy of lanthanide systems, while Chapter 221 examines rare-earth metal-organic frameworks, also known as coordination polymers. The final Chapter 222 deals with the catalytic activity of rare earths in site-selective hydrolysis of DNA and RNA. Ya. Kalychak, V. Zaremba, R. Pöttgen, M. Lukachuk, and R.-D. Hoffmann review the synthesis conditions, isothermal sections of phase diagrams, crystallography and basic physical properties of ternary intermetallic compounds consisting of the rare-earth metals, transition metals and indium. P. Thalmeier and G. Zwicknagl revisit the last decade of research uncovering some of the mysteries of the superconducting state, especially those related to heavy fermion superconductivity and the co-existence of the superconducting and exotic magnetically ordered states. J. P. Riehl and G. Muller review how the molecular stereochemistry of lanthanide complexes both in pure forms and in mixtures can be probed using circularly polarized luminescence. O. Guillou and C. Daiguebonne assess rare earth-containing metal-organic frameworks, also known as coordination polymers, which hold a potential as working bodies for opto-electronic and magnetic devices, microporous materials for a variety of uses, such as size- and shape-selective separations, catalyst support and hydrogen storage materials. Concluding the volume, M. Komiyama argues that future biotechnology may well rely on the use of rare-earth ions as unique catalysts that can slice DNA and RNA in order to allow their reprogramming, and thus lead to more effective bioengineered processes.