Quantum materials with strong spin-orbit coupling: challenges and opportunities for materials chemists

Spin-orbit coupling is a quantum effect that can give rise to exotic electronic and magnetic states in the compounds of the 4d and 5d transition metals. Exploratory synthesis, chemical tuning and structure-property characterisation of such compounds is an increasingly active area of research with both fundamental and application-related outlooks, but requires great care with regards to the chemistry of these materials that has not always been considered. This Perspective will give an accessible introduction to topical materials with strong spin-orbit coupling, their crystal chemistry, and their structure-property relationships, which overlaps with the contemporary investigation of some of the same materials within different communities. It will also outline some of the challenges faced in their synthesis and characterisation, and the contributions that materials chemists can make to overcoming these.