An Autonomous Electrochemical Discovery Robot that Utilises Probabilistic Algorithms: Probing the Redox Behaviour of Inorganic Materials

The discovery of new electroactive materials is slow due to the large combinatorial chemical space of possible experiments. Efficient exploration of redox-active chemical space requires a machine learning assisted robotic platform with real-time feedback. Here, we developed a closed-loop robotic platform which is capable of synthesis and electrochemical characterisation controlled using a probabilistic algorithm. This was used to probe the redox behaviour of different polyoxometalates (POMs) precursors and explore the formation of redox-active coordination complexes. The system can run accurate analytical electrochemical measurements whilst maintaining the performance and accuracy of both the working and reference electrodes. The platform successfully ran and analysed 336 coordination chemistry reactions by performing ca. 2500 cyclic voltammetry (CV) scans for analysis and electrode cleaning. Overall, the platform carried out over 9900 operations in 350 hours at a rate of 28 operations per hour, and we identified 24 complex solutions which showed significantly different redox activity. Experiments were performed using a universal chemical synthesis language (chi DL) with variable inputs. The platform was used autonomously to investigate a range of POM precursor materials demonstrating 45 % increase in capacitance. The experiments ran for 36 hours with more than 6400 operations during which we analysed 200 POM precursor solutions. Electrochemistry machine-learning: A closed-loop robotic platform driven by a probabilistic algorithm is shown to be capable of synthesis and electrochemical characterisation. This platform was used to probe the redox behaviour of different polyoxometalates (POMs) precursors and explore the formation of a variety of redox-active coordination complexes.+image

Automated summary

This study developed a closed-loop robotic platform driven by a probabilistic algorithm for synthesis and electrochemical characterization. It successfully explored the redox behavior of different polyoxometalates (POMs) precursors and identified 24 complex solutions with significantly different redox activity.