Publishing FAIR and machine-actionable reviews in materials science: The case for symbolic knowledge in neuro-symbolic artificial intelligence

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Jennifer D’Souza - , German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) (Author)
  • Sören Auer - , German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB), L3S Research Center (Author)
  • Eleni Poupaki - , Eindhoven University of Technology (Author)
  • Alex Watkins - , University of Warwick (Author)
  • Anjana Devi - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • Riikka L. Puurunen - , Aalto University (Author)
  • Bora Karasulu - , University of Warwick (Author)
  • Adriaan Mackus - , Eindhoven University of Technology (Author)
  • Erwin Kessels - , Eindhoven University of Technology (Author)

Abstract

Scientific reviews are central to knowledge integration in materials science, yet their key insights remain locked in narrative text and static PDF tables, limiting reuse by humans and machines alike. This article presents a case study in atomic layer deposition and etching (ALD/E) where we publish review tables as FAIR, machine-actionable comparisons in the Open Research Knowledge Graph (ORKG), turning them into structured, queryable knowledge. Building on this, we contrast symbolic querying over ORKG with large language model-based querying and argue that a curated symbolic layer should remain the backbone of reliable neurosymbolic AI in materials science, with LLMs serving as complementary, symbolically grounded interfaces rather than standalone sources of truth.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number032408
JournalJournal of Vacuum Science and Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces and Films
Volume44
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2026
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes