Inorganike

Inorganike is a field of chemistry that studies inorganic compounds and materials, i.e., substances whose properties derive mainly from elements other than carbon–hydrogen frameworks. In many languages, the term corresponds to inorganic chemistry. The scope includes metals and metal complexes, mineral and inorganic polymers, ceramics, catalysts, and a broad range of solid-state materials. While organics focus on carbon-based molecules, inorganike covers compounds built from elements across the periodic table, including main-group elements, transition metals, lanthanides and actinides. Some carbon-containing inorganic species, such as carbonates or cyanides, are included in inorganike as well.

Key subfields include coordination chemistry (metal–ligand complexes), bioinorganic chemistry (metals in biology), organometallic chemistry (metal–carbon bonds bridging inorganic and organic domains), solid-state/inorganic materials chemistry (crystals, ceramics, superconductors, semiconductors), catalysis, and materials chemistry. Methods used to characterize these substances include X-ray crystallography, spectroscopy (UV–Vis, IR, NMR for certain nuclei), electrochemistry, Mössbauer spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and computational chemistry.

Applications range from industrial catalysts, electronic materials, energy storage and conversion (batteries, fuel cells), pigments and coatings, ceramics, to medicinal inorganic chemistry (diagnostics and radiopharmaceuticals). The history of inorganike extends from early metallurgical chemistry to modern coordination and solid-state chemistry, with notable milestones in the development of the periodic table, Werner’s coordination theory, and the emergence of inorganic materials as a major field in modern science.

Education typically leads from bachelor's degrees in chemistry or materials science to advanced research at master's and PhD levels, with laboratory training in synthesis, characterization, and safety for handling reactive metals and compounds.