Structural Diversity of Rare-Earth Oxychalcogenides

Mixed-anion systems have garnered much attention in the past decade with attractive properties for diverse applications such as energy conversion, electronics, and catalysis. The discovery of new materials through mixed-cation and single-anion systems proved highly successful in the previous century, but solid-state chemists are now embracing an exciting design opportunity by incorporating multiple anions in compounds such as oxychalcogenides. Materials containing rare-earth ions are arguably a cornerstone of modern technology, and herein, we review recent advances in rare-earth oxychalcogenides. We discuss ternary rare-earth oxychalcogenides whose layered structures illustrate the characters and bonding preferences of oxide and chalcogenide anions. We then review quaternary compounds which combine anionic and cationic design strategies toward materials discovery and describe their structural diversity. Finally, we emphasize the progression from layered two-dimensional compounds to three-dimensional networks and the unique synthetic approaches which enable this advancement.