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Remote-controlled experiments with cloud chemistry

Nature Chemistry volume 7, pages 1–5 (2015)Cite this article

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Developing cleaner chemical processes often involves sophisticated flow-chemistry equipment that is not available in many economically developing countries. For reactions where it is the data that are important rather than the physical product, the networking of chemists across the internet to allow remote experimentation offers a viable solution to this problem.

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Figure 1: The principle of cloud-chemistry experiments.
Figure 2: The results of an optimization of the acid-catalysed reaction of 1-butanol with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) in supercritical CO2 carried out in Nottingham, UK, but controlled by Guilherme Aydos from his desk in Brazil.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the University of Nottingham for supporting this work. We are grateful to Professors Chris Rudd and Christine Ennew for their enthusiasm for cloud chemistry. We also thank CBMM for donation of the niobium catalysts, and all of the different sponsors that have supported the researchers in our universities who have taken part in this experiment. M.W.G. thanks the Royal Society for a Wolfson Research Merit Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Ryan A. Skilton, Richard A. Bourne, Zacharias Amara, Raphael Horvath, Jing Jin, Emilia Streng, Samantha L. Y. Tang, Jairton Dupont, Michael W. George & Martyn Poliakoff

  2. Information Services, University of Nottingham, Kings Meadow Campus, Lenton Lane, Nottingham, NG7 2NR, UK

    Michael J. Scully

  3. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, 199 Talking East Road, Ningbo, 315100, China

    Peter A. Summers, Jiawei Wang & Michael W. George

  4. Department of Chemistry, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

    Eduardo Pérez & Nigist Asfaw

  5. Institute of Chemistry, UFRGS, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Porto Alegre, 91501-970, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Guilherme L. P. Aydos & Jairton Dupont

  6. R&D and Quality Assurance Department, Petkim Petrochemical Holding, Aliaga, Izmir, M.B.12 35800, Turkey

    Gurbuz Comak

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  1. Ryan A. Skilton
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Correspondence to Martyn Poliakoff.

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Skilton, R., Bourne, R., Amara, Z. et al. Remote-controlled experiments with cloud chemistry. Nature Chem 7, 1–5 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2143

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