 Nyholm noted that the term ‘unusual valence state’ had an ‘historical, but not chemical significance.’ ‘The definition of usual oxidation state refers to oxidation states that are stable in environments made up of those chemical species that were common in classical inorganic compounds, e.g.oxides, water and other simple oxygen donors, the halogens, excluding fluorine, and sulphur.Nowadays, however, such species constitute only a minority of the vast number of donor atoms and ligands that can be attached to metal.’

After joining Sydney Technology college in 1940 Nyholm formed a close personal friendship with Francis (Franky) Dwyer and they collaborated in their research.