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Ammonia synthesis is one of the most important chemical processes as it sustains global food production, but it is a highly polluting and energy-intensive process. Here, the challenges of decarbonizing the process to synthesize green ammonia are discussed.
Automated experiments with integrated characterization techniques greatly accelerate materials synthesis and provide data to be used by machine learning algorithms. We reflect on the current use of data-driven automated experimentation in materials synthesis and consider the future of this approach.
Automation and real-time reaction monitoring have enabled data-rich experimentation, which is critically important in navigating the complexities of chemical synthesis. Linking real-time analysis with machine learning and artificial intelligence tools provides the opportunity to accelerate the identification of optimal reaction conditions and facilitate error-free autonomous synthesis. This Comment provides a viewpoint underscoring the growing significance of data-rich experiments and interdisciplinary approaches in driving future progress in synthetic chemistry.
The use of step count as a metric of synthetic efficiency carries opportunities and challenges. Here, proposals are made to standardize what constitutes a synthetic step and how steps are counted. These proposals may be beneficial in the holistic evaluation of published synthetic routes.
Chemical synthesis typically draws on the roughly 90 elements found in nature and transforms them into fantastic things, which serve all imaginable needs of humankind. However, there are more than just these 90 elements in the periodic table. The synthesis of the heaviest elements, one atom at a time, is discussed here.
The organizing principles of click chemistry help scientists make molecules for a variety of applications. Such democratization of synthesis is challenging and rewarding, as useful simplicity is difficult to achieve. We reflect on this and look forward, hoping to continue to tie the joy of functional discovery to the challenges of synthetic chemistry.
