Inorgaaniline

Inorgaaniline, in Estonian usage, refers to inorganic chemistry, a main branch of chemistry that studies substances not based on carbon-hydrogen frameworks. The field encompasses elements, simple and complex inorganic compounds, minerals, metals, ceramics, oxides, sulfides, halides, and a wide range of materials with diverse bonding.

The boundary with organic chemistry is not absolute. Organic chemistry focuses on carbon-containing compounds, especially those with carbon-hydrogen bonds. Inorgaaniline covers a broader set of substances, including metals, salts, coordination compounds, inorganic polymers, and many compounds without carbon skeletons. Organometallic chemistry sits at the interface, dealing with compounds containing metal–carbon bonds.

Key subfields include coordination chemistry, bioinorganic chemistry (metals in biology), solid-state and materials chemistry, inorganic synthesis, clustering and main-group and transition-metal chemistry, as well as catalysis and some areas of organometallic chemistry. The discipline also overlaps with solid-state chemistry, crystallography, and materials science.

Common methods and tools involve synthesis and purification of inorganic compounds, structural determination by X-ray crystallography, and characterization by spectroscopy (UV-Vis, IR, NMR in limited cases, EPR), as well as electrochemical techniques and thermogravimetric analysis. Computational chemistry and radiochemistry are also used in research and teaching.

Applications of inorgaaniline are broad, including industrial catalysis, production of fertilizers, pigments and coatings, electronics and semiconductors, energy storage and conversion (batteries and fuel cells), ceramics and glasses, and environmental remediation. The term is used interchangeably with anorgaaniline in some contexts, reflecting its long-standing role in chemical education and research.