ABSTRACT
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A large number of unexplored chemical compositions that could yield materials with potentially useful properties that could be used in a myriad of applications exist. In fact, fewer than 1% of all possible ternary compounds and fewer than 0.01% of all possible quaternary compounds have been synthesized so far. Of the conventional inorganic methods available, combinatorial chemistry has the most potential for significantly increasing the rate at which new compositions are synthesized and characterized. Furthermore, trends in physical properties and performance over large regions of compositional space may yield important guidance in developing the fundamental understanding and theories that are, at present, lacking.
