INVENTORY ON INNOVATIVE RESEARCH - THE CASE OF C3N4

Two prominent examples of the interaction between predicting and faili ng to synthesize new inorganic materials include metallic hydrogen and the so-called ''harder than diamond'' form of C3N4. In both cases the re has been much speculation and calculation but years of experimentat ion have failed to produce the desired phases, and the intriguing inte rplay continues. This note is a brief appraisal of the status of the c laims regarding C3N4 made by counting and analyzing published papers o n the topic, in an attempt to inventory and evaluate ''innovative rese arch'' on materials.