A standard intro materials science textbook wouldn't tell you exactly what you're looking for, but it would give you an idea of what the state of the art is and

A standard intro materials science textbook wouldn't tell you exactly what you're looking for, but it would give you an idea of what the state of the art is and where different materials are used and also a little bit of potted history. I read Askeland, Fulay, and Wright's /The Science and Engineering of Materials/ a couple of months ago; it seemed like a mediocre book, but the material covered was fascinating (and reasonably clearly presented.)