Functional materials design for the new millennium: Updating the rational strategy and enabling tools

Inorganic materials breakthroughs are often the first step in the life cycle of chemical process innovations, particularly when a catalytic reaction, an absorptive separation, or an ion exchange step is integral to the process. The synthesis of the functional materials to fill these roles is a challenging enterprise, even without the new commercial realities. A new or substantially revised model for the rational design and synthesis of useful materials is necessary to assure success. Of the many rapidly advancing fields for the discovery of inorganic materials, the three fields of chemistry - computational, combinatorial and supramolecular - will have significant effects.