Definition of materials chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 2024)

Materials chemistry is focused on the design, preparation, and understanding of innovative materials. It is an emerging area of research where definitions are not well established. This document defines the area of materials chemistry for the benefit of chemistry communities and the general public worldwide interested in this discipline. This recommendation defines the term “materials chemistry” as the “scientific discipline that designs, synthesizes, and characterizes materials, with particular interest on processing and understanding of useful or potentially useful properties displayed by the materials designed and synthesized for specific applications.”