The expanded edition focuses still more on Synthesis discussing necessary requirements for sample preparation and presents the broad range from structural analysis to property investigations. Additional examples of chemical and physical properties are highlighted for metallic, binary and multinary intermetallic compounds.

The work contains an up-dated literature overview in all sub-chapters and a detailed formulae index.

Rainer Pöttgen, University of Münster, Germany; Dirk Johrendt, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany.