Materials chemistry is a branch of chemistry that is concerned with the discovery of new materials and the improvement of existing materials for use in the chemical industry. The field of materials chemistry is continually growing since new materials with unique and interesting properties are being discovered almost every day. Materials chemistry is concerned with several different classes of materials, including metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites.

Materials chemists spend a lot of time and money researching and developing metallic materials. A metallic material is not necessarily a pure metal. It can be any inorganic material containing one or more of the metallic elements in its structure. Metals conduct electricity and are often good thermal conductors as well. A metal has a well-ordered crystalline structure that gives the material strength as well as a high melting point. Metals can be classified into two basic categories--ferrous and nonferrous...