Page 21 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

8 1 What Is Materials Chemistry?

movies, and the Internet on today’s society, the practice of invoking a deliberate
flowchart of thought is not generally applicable.
From the MD that must properly diagnose an illness, to the lawyer that must
properly follow logic to defend his/her client, critical thinking skills are a necessity
for any career path. These skills are also very applicable for the design of new
materials – the topic of this textbook. Figure 1.5 illustrates one example of a
critical thinking flowchart that could be applied for the design of a new material.

What is the target need/application?

What materials are currently used for
this application?

LIT SEARCH What property(ies) need to be improved/developed?

Are there currently any materials under development
with these desired properties?

Evaluation of the structure vs. property relationships
in similar materials

Method development, based on past precedents (bottom-up/top-down, precursor
design, synthetic pathways, choice of solvents, theoretical calculations, etc.)

Synthesis of the material, with suitable characterization
(to prove it is what you think it is)
Interesting side reactions?
What is the mechanism?
Physical property measurements
ADDITIONAL STUDIES
(does the material do what you anticipated?)

Revision of the synthetic pathway to improve properties, yield, purity, etc.
Experiment with other starting materials, catalysts, etc. to see if a better
procedure could be used

File patent on the procedure, followed by publication of results in
an appropriate scientific journal.

Find licensor for technology, to scale-up production of the
material

Figure 1.5. An example of a critical thinking scheme for the design of a new material.