{
  "abstract": "Self-driving laboratories (SDLs) can accelerate chemical optimisation, yet their application has largely focused on established reaction classes rather than the uncertain and iterative process of developing new reactivity. Here we introduce human-robot collaborative reaction development, in which researchers drive ideation, interpretation and scientific decisionmaking, while an SDL performs the systematic experimentation required to rapidly evaluate emerging reaction concepts. We demonstrate this approach through the development of a photochemical α-(fluoro)alkylation of cyclic secondary amines via in situ imine formation. Starting from an initial human-discovered reactivity hit, RoboChem-Flex was repeatedly deployed as new questions emerged: to establish whether the reaction warranted further development, adapt conditions to di erent substrate classes, rapidly assess coupling partners, and optimise promising but underperforming reactivity. Transfer of knowledge between campaigns further enabled an initially low-yielding α-methylation to be developed in only 11 additional experiments. The resulting methodology accommodates diverse cyclic amines and alkyl iodides and enables downstream derivatisation. More broadly, this work demonstrates how autonomous experimentation can augment human scientific reasoning, accelerating the transition from initial reactivity to synthetic methodology while keeping scientific judgement at the centre of the discovery process.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Flow Chemistry Group",
    "Van ’t HoInstitute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam",
    "Chemistry Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Orabona 4, Bari, Italy, 70125",
    "Group Innovation & Sustainability, Testing, Analytics and Physics Group",
    "Zuyd University of Applied Sciences"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 15,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Michael Vanzella"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Prakash Chandra Tiwari"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Elisabeth Reischauer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Junsong Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Marek Pontvuijst"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Rossella Catanzaro"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Simone Pilon"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Elia Savino"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Méritxell Fillols"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Antonio Pulcinella"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Stefano Bonciolini"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Ron A.H. Peters"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Tim den Hartog"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Antonio Monopoli"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Timothy Noel"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3b449c20mmz7j.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15008166/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "3b449c20mmz7j",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008166/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1605|Radical Photochemical Reactions"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7204863257",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008166/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-01",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3b449c20mmz7j.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15008166",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008166/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1605|Radical Photochemical Reactions",
      "subfield": "organic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Human–Robot Collaborative Reaction Development with a Self-Driving Laboratory",
  "title_text": "Human–Robot Collaborative Reaction Development with a Self-Driving Laboratory",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3b449c20mmz7j",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}