Scannate

Scannate is a term with limited standard usage in science writing. In practice, it is often a misspelling of scandate or used to refer to rare-earth scandates (REScO3) in materials science, depending on the source. The lack of a single, widely accepted definition means that the meaning should be inferred from context.

Rare-earth scandates, a well-established class of materials, are compounds with the general formula REScO3, where RE is a trivalent rare-earth cation. They adopt perovskite-like structures and are valued in oxide electronics as substrates for epitaxial growth. Prominent examples include DyScO3, GdScO3, NdScO3, and SmScO3. The lattice parameters of these substrates can closely match those of many perovskite films, enabling high-quality interfaces and reduced defect densities. Their thermal stability and chemical robustness further support their use in high-temperature processing.

In the context of coordination chemistry, some sources use scandate to refer to oxoanions or salts containing scandium with oxygen. However, this usage is uncommon and varies between journals, and there is no universally accepted formula or charge for a scandate ion. As a result, scannate is most reliably encountered as shorthand for rare-earth scandates in materials science discussions, rather than as a standalone inorganic anion.

Overall, scannate is best understood today as a variant spelling or a placeholder for rare-earth scandates used as substrate materials in oxide thin-film research and related applications.