From the History of the Laboratory

The laboratory was founded in 1953 by Alexandra V. Novoselova, a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, under the name "Salt Equilibria Laboratory". At the initial stages the main focus of research was the chemistry of beryllium and its compounds, in particular, beryllium fluoride and fluoroberyllates of metals. Phase diagrams of beryllium-containing metallic, salt, and aqueous salt systems were constructed using various methods of physicochemical analysis. In order to meet the industrial demands, such as beryllium extraction from minerals, obtaining pure beryllium and its compounds that were the materials for aerospace and atomic industries, these works had been continued until 1970s.

Salt Equilibria Laboratory 1967

By the period of the end of the 1950s - beginning of the 1960s the research directions started to expand. The work in the field of beryllium chemistry has evolved into the investigations of the synthesis and structures of organic derivatives: oxyacetates, coordination compounds of halides with organic molecules, alcoxides. At the same time, the investigations in selenium and tellurium chemistry had been initiated, primarily targeting at the development of synthetic routes to tellurium dioxide, tellurites, and, later, metal tellurides and selenides. In 1962, this direction of research was separated into the independent laboratory of Chemistry of Semiconductors.

During the 60-70s there also were active works on metal fluoride chemistry, including synthesis of simple and complex fluorides, studies of condensed phase diagrams of fluoride systems, and mass-spectroscopic investigation on the nature of evaporation and vapor composition of fluorides. Since the end of 60s the investigations in chemistry of semiconducting ferroelectrics based on chalcogen-halides of antimony and bismuth have started, including P-T-x diagrams construction for the corresponding systems, and crystal growth. These works later evolved into the search for new layered noncentrosymmetric crystalline phases.

The 1980s marked an active development of the works in the field of high-temperature superconductors, synthetic and structural chemistry of main-group clusters (primarily bismuth), with the recent addition of pnictidehalide chemistry and supramolecular chemistry of the compounds mostly based on metal-pnictogen frameworks. Supramolecular inorganic chemistry and cluster chemistry remained the central research directions of the laboratory through the 1990s.

February 2004

Second row standing: V. Prituzhalov, A.V. Olenev, O. Dityatiev, L.N. Reshetova, K.O. Znamenov, V.A. Dolgikh, P.S. Berdonosov, I.V. Morozov, Yu.M. Korenev

First row standing: V.A. Trifonov, V.A. Aleshin, E.V. Karpova, A.I.Baranov, D.O.Charkin, K.A. Kovnir, E.A. Kiseleva, A.N. Kuznetcov, A.V. Shevelkov, T.Yu. Glazunova, O.S. Oleneva, A.I. Boltalin

Sitting: N.Ya. Turova, E.I. Ardashnikova, Prof. B.A. Popovkin, E.A. Lavut, A.A. Fedorova

The laboratory changed its name twice in its lifetime: since 1984 it was called "Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Heterogeneous Equilibria", and since 1988 it is called "Inorganic Synthesis Laboratory".

Prof. Popovkin on the 50th lab anniversary celebration

A.V. Novoselova remained the head of the laboratory until she passed away in 1986. Between 1987 and 2008 the laboratory was headed by Professor Boris A. Popovkin. Professor Andrei V. Shevelkov is the present head of the laboratory.

Laboratory at March 2010

Members of the laboratory on the VII National crystal chemical conference. Town Suzdal June 17-21 2013

From the left to right Dr T.A Shestimerova with son, Lu Min, Dr Elena V. Karpova, Dr. Dmitry .O. Charkin, Dr. Igor V. Morozov. Prof. Andrey V. Shevelkov, Igor Plokhikh, Prof. Evgeny Dikarev, Dr. Peter S. Berdonosov, Dr. Alexander I. Boltalin, Dr. Anna A. Fedorova, Evgeniya Deeva, Alex Zakharov and Masha V. Roslova

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Laboratory at June 2014