The Engineering of Chemical Synthesis: Humans and Machines Working in Harmony

Abstract

Words and phrases such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Neural Networks, Robotics, the Cloud, Big Data and the Internet of Things are typically associated with many modern technological and scientific developments. Until recently, however, they have not been applied systematically to the chemical assembly of society’s functional molecules. Indeed, due to the lack of suitable tools, chemical synthesis in the past has tended to rely heavily on robust labour intensive batch processes that were often developed decades ago. This situation is changing rapidly owing to many reasons and, in particular, to the continuing need to discover new reactivity and new reactions, especially more sustainable processes. Smart, self-optimising platforms for continuous compound production along with a vast range of new analytical, monitoring and control devices for improved management of research experimentation and for accelerating the synthesis process are now available.