The discovery and development of materials with useful properties such as conductivity, nonlinear optics, chirality, sensing, thermal stability and mechanical resistance are essential for technological progress in our society. For example,
polymers and
zeolites have a wide range of properties and uses in everyday life. Polymers are both naturally occurring and synthetically produced. Among naturally occurring polymers are proteins, starches, cellulose, and latex. Synthetic polymers like plastics, rubbers, synthetic fabrics, composite materials etc. are commercially produced and consumed on a very large scale. Whether it is the running shoe one wears, the tires on bikes and cars or the plastic wrap in the kitchen, synthetic polymers play an important role in our everyday life. Major uses for zeolites are in petrochemical cracking, ion-exchange (water softening and purification), separations, catalysis, and removal of gases. At home the kitty litter that absorbs ammonia and controls odors might be made from zeolites.
Supramolecular or
crystal_engineered materials are designed to display desirable properties for specific applications such as
fuel_cells, nanotechnology, molecular devices, catalysis, host-guest and clathrate chemistry as well as drug delivery. Materials with interesting conductivity properties are
semiconductors used in transistor, computer chip, and diode manufacturing and
superconductors that might hold promising future industrial and commercial applications such as innovative propulsion systems, power storage, and super fast computer circuits. Some
fullerene based molecules are superconductors and have unusual structural, chemical and physical properties. The challenge today is to envision and devise materials, which abandon
the_"cradle_to_grave"_design and instead be considered of resources running out and a more and more polluted environment. Ecological design challenges to find new, revolutionary solutions like biodegradable plastics and make materials that can be perpetually circulated in closed loops. The molecules listed in the category Materials and Technology are classified by their characteristics and industrial applications. Some of the applications considered are metallurgy, electronics, industrial dyes, fuel and petroleum industry, refrigeration technology, explosive industry, and in the manufacture of polymers.
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