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The ability to make precise materials rapidly and at low cost has enabled the growth of the 3D printer market. To tailor products, the flow of materials as well as the assembly pathway are key considerations.
Decades can pass from the discovery of a molecule or material to its commercial use and often the eventual application differs from the use initially envisaged by the curious researcher.
Reversible alkyne metathesis proves its worth in the bulk synthesis of γ-graphyne, an sp–sp2-hybridized carbon allotrope. The ability to synthesize graphynes in bulk is an important step towards harnessing the properties of these graphene-like allotropes.
Retrosynthesis is a common strategy for the design of synthetic routes to organic molecules. Implementing the concept in materials science is a further step towards guided approaches to materials synthesis.
