Superalkalis are a special class of atomic clusters that potentially mimic the behavior of alkali metal atoms. These are species having lower ionization energies (IEs) than alkalis, which are known to possess the lowest IE among all the elements in the periodic table. Owing to their low IE, superalkalis possess strong reducing capacity. It has been reported recently that the superalkalis are capable of reducing carbon dioxide and several other stable molecules.

Although the first superalkali cluster Li3O was experimentally realized in 1979, the superalkalis were formulated for the first time in 1982. The last two decades witnessed an enormous research and development on the various aspects of superalkalis. These clusters not only possess unusual structures but also have some peculiar properties, which can be exploited for various applications. This leads to their applications in the design of superbases, nonlinear optical (NLO) active compounds, alkalides, hydrogen storage, etc. The scope of the field is broad, but the involvement of research groups in the field worldwide is relatively scarce.

The proposed book aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview along with the recent advances in various aspects of this particularly interesting topic. Due to the lack of any reference book on this specific topic, this book will prove to be a unique source of literature. Keeping this in mind, the proposed book is designed to span from a basic introduction to the latest developments in the subject. This book will serve as a unique resource for the next generation of research on the subject.

Dr. Ambrish Kumar Srivastava, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Physics at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, India. He has authored/edited more than 150 research publications and 10 books. He received the prestigious NASI-Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award, 2022, from the National Academy of Sciences, India. He is an Associate of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (2024–2027).