Chemical synthesis is the process of preparing inorganic and organic compounds by union of simpler, readily available starting materials through a series of planned reaction and isolation steps. Stoichiometric relationships derived from the balanced chemical reactions of each of the individual steps: a A + b B c C + d D determine the maximum amount of interemediate(s) and/or product(s) (i.e., chemicals C and D) that can be produced from the given starting materials (i.e., chemicals A and B). For example, if one starts with a moles of chemical A plus b moles of chemical B, then one should theoretically make d moles of chemical D, assuming that the above reaction goes to completion. Chemical reactions rarely go to completion, and often some of the starting materials and products are consumed by side reactions.

The efficiency of a chemical reaction is expressed in...