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Title: Does repeat synthesis in materials chemistry obey a power law?

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering; DOE/OSTI
  2. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Finding examples where experimental measurements have been repeated is a powerful strategy for assessing reproducibility of scientific data. Here, we collect quantitative data to assess how often synthesis of a newly reported material is repeated in the scientific literature. We present a simple power-law model for the frequency of repeat syntheses and assess the validity of this model using a specific class of materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Our data suggest that a power law describes the frequency of repeat synthesis of many MOFs but that a small number of “supermaterials” exist that have been replicated many times more than a power law would predict. Our results also hint that there are many repeat syntheses that have been performed but not reported in the literature, which suggests simple steps that could be taken to greatly increase the number of reports of replicate experiments in materials chemistry.

Research Organization:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Understanding and Control of Acid Gas-induced Evolution of Materials for Energy (UNCAGE-ME); Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012577
OSTI ID:
1625062
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 117; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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