World Trends
Cooper Group University of Liverpool (UK)
“A mobile robotic chemist”
The Cooper Group at the University of Liverpool has developed a robotic system capable of autonomously conducting experiments traditionally performed by humans, using a mobile robotic arm as shown in the figure. In this study, the robot autonomously carried out a series of experiments aimed at improving the performance of photocatalysts used for hydrogen production from water. The robot automatically performed various tasks—including weighing solid reagents, dispensing liquids, removing air, initiating catalytic reactions, and measuring yields. Over the course of eight days, it conducted 688 experimental runs autonomously and successfully identified a catalyst with over six times the activity of the initial formulation. It is estimated that this volume of experiments would have taken several months if performed manually, demonstrating the system's potential for rapid optimization. [Author: Kimura]
