Design of Experiment: A Rational and Still Unexplored Approach to Inorganic Materials’ Synthesis

Abstract

This review was devoted to outlining the use and potential increasing application of the Design of Experiment (DoE) approach to the rational and planned synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials, with a particular focus on polycrystalline nanostructures (metal and alloys, oxides, chalcogenides, halogenides, etc.) produced by sustainable wet chemistry routes based on a multi-parameter experimental landscape. After having contextualised the stringent need for a rational approach to inorganic materials’ synthesis, a concise theoretical background on DoE is provided, focusing on its statistical basis, shortly describing the different sub-methodologies, and outlining the pros and cons of each. In the second part of the review, a wider section is dedicated to the application of DoE to the rational synthesis of different kinds of chemical systems, with a specific focus on inorganic materials.