Autonomous synthesis robot uses AI to speed up chemical discovery

Impressive ingenuity

30-Jan-2024 - Chemists of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have developed an autonomous chemical synthesis robot with an integrated AI-driven machine learning unit. Dubbed ‘RoboChem’, the benchtop device can outperform a human chemist in terms of speed and accuracy while also displaying a high level of ...

Taking photoclick chemistry to the next level

A boost for the PQ-ERA photoclick reaction

04-Sep-2023 - In a cooperation between the Universities of Groningen and Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and the European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy (Italy), researchers have been able to substantially improve photoclick chemistry. They were able to boost the reactivity of the photoclick compound in ...

Chemists recycle shrimp waste as catalyst for hydrogen generation

The breakthrough came during a so-called Friday Afternoon experiment

24-Jul-2023 - Since 2020, the Heterogeneous Catalysis & Sustainable Chemistry group at the UvA’s Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences has been working on using alkali metal borohydride salts as future hydrogen carriers. These solid salts can be stored safely in air under ambient conditions and release ...

Graphene grows – and we can see it

28-Mar-2023 - Graphene is the strongest of all materials. On top of that, it is exceptionally good at conducting heat and electrical currents, making it one of the most special and versatile materials we know. For all these reasons, the discovery of graphene was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. Yet, ...

Using machine learning to improve the toxicity assessment of chemicals

Chemists take a new approach to testing chemicals

30-Dec-2022 - Researchers of the University of Amsterdam, together with colleagues at the University of Queensland and the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, have developed a strategy for assessing the toxicity of chemicals using machine learning. They present their approach in an article in Environmental ...

Floppy or not: AI predicts properties of complex metamaterials

Even when given only a relatively small set of examples to learn from

09-Nov-2022 - Given a 3D piece of origami, can you flatten it without damaging it? Just by looking at the design, the answer is hard to predict, because each and every fold in the design has to be compatible with flattening. This is an example of a combinatorial problem. New research led by the UvA Institute ...

Using ions to find molecules

Physicists use a single trapped ion to detect ultracold molecules

15-Mar-2022 - When we think of ions, we usually think of single atoms that have lost or gained some electrons, but entire molecules can also become ions. In a new publication that was highlighted as an Editor’s Suggestion in Physical Review Letters, physicists from the University of Amsterdam, QuSoft and Stony ...

Scientists develop fully solar-driven autonomous chemical mini-plant

Production of fine chemicals in remote locations on Earth, and possibly even on Mars - also facade could make chemicals

18-Oct-2021 - Professor Timothy Noël and co-workers in the Flow Chemistry group of the University of Amsterdam's Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences have developed a fully operational standalone solar-powered mini-reactor which offers the potential for the production of fine chemicals in remote ...

Playing with Light and Color

Assemblies of blue-green iridium and red europium complexes undergo energy transfer and emit white light

26-Jan-2005 - Complexes of the rare earth element (lanthanide) europium have the ability to emit red light over a longer time span after excitation by, for example, light of a suitable wavelength or the energy of a prior redox reaction. This luminescence makes them interesting candidates for applications ...

Tungsten makes it happen

Saving energy in one of the most important chemical processes.

24-Jul-2003 - Alkenes, such as ethylene and propylene, are important starting materials for chemical industry. One of the technical processes for the manufacture of alkenes is the catalytic dehydration of the corresponding alkanes. This process could be made much more profitable if a new formulation, developed ...