Towards a Robotic Scientist for Synthesis of Nanocrystals

Data-driven materials synthesis is heralded as a new paradigm to substitute for trial-and-error experiments and labor-intensive tasks by human scientists. Herein, a Robotic Scientist platform that can deliver unprecedented performance for rational design, controllable synthesis, and retrosynthesis of nanocrystals is described. By taking advantage of interdisciplinary fields including artificial intelligence, robotic automation, and big data, the Robotic Scientist platform is trained to synthesize Au nanocrystals. Existing knowledge and machine learning models are integrated into the rational design process. Controllable synthesis is achieved by synergistic coupling of robot-assisted synthesis on the macro-scale and nanocrystal growth on the nano-scale. By means of the Robotic Scientist platform, over 2,300 samples are synthesized in conjunction with in-situ characterization to accomplish the complete task of design-synthesis-retrosynthesis. The platform and methodology of Robotic Scientist pave the way for digital synthesis of nanocrystals and facilitate the paradigm shift to data-driven materials synthesis.