Subcritical solvothermal synthesis of condensed inorganic materials.

The solvothermal method has recently been extended from zeolite synthesis to the formation of condensed inorganic solids, which find uses in diverse areas due to properties such as ionic-conductivity, solid-state magnetism, giant magnetoresistance, low thermal expansion and ferroelectricity. This offers specific advantages over the traditional ceramic synthetic routes to inorganic solids and these are highlighted with examples from the recent literature, and the efforts focussed on determining the formation mechanism of solids from the heterogeneous mixtures used in solvothermal procedures are discussed.