Are we facing a reproducibility crises in materials synthesis? A systematic review of Turkevich AuNP synthesis and CVD MoS2 growth
arXiv:2607.14849
The paper conducts a systematic review and meta‑analysis of the Turkevich synthesis of gold nanoparticles and chemical vapor deposition growth of MoS₂, revealing that many studies underreport critical parameters and lack statistical analysis, which hampers reproducibility across laboratories.
Abstract
Reproducibility remains a major challenge in materials synthesis, particularly for nanomaterials whose properties are highly sensitive to experimental conditions. Here, we present a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the reproducibility of two widely used synthesis routes: the Turkevich method for gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of MoS2. An adapted PRISMA-based protocol combined with a modified SPIDER framework was applied to assess methodological transparency, parameter reporting, and experimental consistency across the literature. More than 1,300 articles for each case study were retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science and systematically screened using structured checklists and a Python-based text classification algorithm validated against independent human reviewers. Despite the extensive literature and the widespread perception of these methods as reproducible, only a small fraction of studies rigorously addressed synthesis reproducibility. Critical experimental parameters were frequently underreported, and statistical analyses were rarely included, limiting inter-laboratory comparability and reproducibility. These findings demonstrate the value of systematic reviews and meta-analyses as tools for identifying reproducibility gaps and guiding the development of more transparent and reliable synthesis protocols in materials science.
36 pages, 5 figures, 132 references