Do Chemists "discover," "invent," or "create" things? I am an ESL teacher, and am designing an activity to teach my engineering students the differences between the words "invention," "discovery," "innovation," and "creation," words that are often confusing for non-native speakers (and as I'm finding out, native speakers.)

I have looked on the internet for usage and it seems to be all over the map: Nobel either invented dynamite, created it, or discovered it, and Teflon was called a discovery.

In my view, physical laws are discovered, as are molecules, fundamental particles, and forces because they already exist naturally.  Teflon cannot be said to be discovered because it does not exist naturally; neither does DDT and thousands of other molecules and compounds.  Is there a plant that produces nitrous oxide?

Based on the usage of "creation" I feel that this word more aptly describes the "process" of chemistry.  Teflon was created, not discovered or invented.

As chemists what usage do you prefer?  Do you prefer the use of inventor, creator, or discoverer?  If there are multiple answers can you help me see why you choose that word?
discover
invent
create
innovate


Create is totally weird with chemistry, you can create item, but substance?

Innovate is more about improving something existing.

This leaves us with discover and invent, which in case of chemistry seems to me almost equivalent. For "invent" I would imagine targeted effort towards a new substance with desired properties, whereas "discover" evokes more trial-and-error approach.