A Modular Programmable Inorganic Cluster Discovery Robot for the Discovery and Synthesis of Polyoxometalates.

The exploration of complex multicomponent chemical reactions leading to new clusters, where discovery requires both molecular self-assembly and crystallization, is a major challenge. This is because the systematic approach required for an experimental search is limited when the number of parameters in a chemical space becomes too large, restricting both exploration and reproducibility. Herein, we present a synthetic strategy to systematically search a very large set of potential reactions, using an inexpensive, high-throughput platform that is modular in terms of both hardware and software and is capable of running multiple reactions with in-line analysis, for the automation of inorganic and materials chemistry.