Catalyst screening
The problem
The race for better catalysts hinges on cutting reaction costs, simplifying complex chemistry, reducing side reactions, and waste. Scaling a catalyst from discovery to production demands robust, reproducible conditions — and that means understanding how every variable really behaves.
High-throughput catalyst screening adds even more complexity. You need precise reagent transfer, small-scale reactions that often run under pressure, and reliable data on conversion, selectivity, and stability — all in one workflow. Many labs rely on manual, high-throughput tools or basic automation to get more done. Traditional automation might let you run more experiments, but it won’t help you design better ones or understand your data any faster.
The right tool for the job
Stuntman is the adaptable automation platform that pulls together all the critical steps of catalyst screening with built-in AI. Turn your natural-language prompts into executable scripts that can orchestrate closed-loop automation from start to finish. Stuntman AI helps plan and organize experiments, interpret results, and guide how things progress. Design, execute, and analyze experiments all in one place using Stuntman AI, an intuitive drag-and-drop interface or Python with full API access. Configure your deck your way to automate reaction setup, explore massive condition spaces fast — discrete or continuous, temperature or pressure – and watch conversion and selectivity unfold in real time.
What’s possible
Powder dispense
Every catalyst screening workflow starts with one simple truth – you have to dose the right amount of catalysts and reactants, every single time. Two hopper formats on Stuntman – Classic and Storage Vial (SV) – cover everything from sub-milligram catalyst charges to gram-scale reagent additions. They handle everything from free-flowing powders to stubborn, chunky solids without breaking a sweat. Load any combo of hoppers on deck and let Stuntman's adaptive algorithms learn each powder’s flow profile for precise, reproducible delivery.
Classic hoppers (10, 25, 50, 100 mL) crush one-to-many dispenses when the same powder goes into multiple wells. SV hoppers are ideal for massive screens with dozens of unique reagents or materials, using standard 4 mL glass vials with disposable heads. Stack dozens on deck, keep hundreds more off deck, and track every dispense with full traceability. Compact, flexible, and reusable hoppers make for the perfect setup for high-throughput chemistry.
Liquid dispense
Stuntman has numerous options for transferring liquids. Positive Displacement Tips (PDTs) handle everything from volatile solvents to viscous reagents and slurries, spanning 10 µL to 10 mL. Wide-bore needles keep slurries and suspensions flowing without clogs. Solvents can be drawn from on-deck or off-deck sources, ranging from a few microliters to hundreds of milliliters. Every liquid type is individually calibrated, so every dispense hits the target — no drips, no waste, no surprises.
Piercing tips come into play when you need to handle volatile reagents or solvents without evaporation. The heated, spreadable six-tip head runs up to 120 °C, keeping reagents soluble through temperature-sensitive workflows. Adjustable spacing from 9–20 mm fits everything from 96-well plates to larger vials, so you can move easily between discovery and development formats. The 6-tip includes an extendable tip if you just need one solution at a time, and the head can be put into 4-tip mode if handling several.
Mixing and thermal control
Uniform, reproducible mixing is critical for reliable catalyst screening, and Stuntman gives you total control. Heat, cool, stir, or shake – dial in exactly what your chemistry needs. Run 96-well plates or larger vial formats, with each plate running its own temperature program.
Orbital shaking on a Vortex Station and magnetic stirring on a Heated Stir Bay keep suspensions and dispersions even, ensuring every catalyst particle sees the same environment. Temperature spans from ambient up to 180 °C, with optional active cooling below 0 °C for exothermic or temperature-sensitive reactions. Stirring speeds, durations and temperature profiles are fully programmable, so you can fine-tune mixing intensity and thermal conditions to match each catalyst or reaction type.
Filtration and sample cleanup
Once reactions finish, Stuntman automates sample cleanup right on deck. Integrated filtration separates solids from liquids, removing catalysts salts, or particulates before analysis. Stuntman works seamlessly with filter vials, filtration plates, and vacuum manifolds, adapting to any workflow or chemistry. Reaction mixtures come out clean, clarified, and ready for LC, GC, or spectroscopy without ever leaving the deck.
Small scale pressurized reactions
If your chemistry demands tighter control — volatile solvents, gas–liquid systems, or exothermic transformations — the Deck Screening Pressure Reactor (DSPR) is your go-to. The Deck Screening Pressure Reactor (DSPR) can be used with Heat/Cool/Stir Bay on Stuntman.
The DSPR operates to 180 °C and 200 psi (13.8 bar) with up to 96 reactions in a single run. Beyond pressure, the DSPR ensures uniform heat and mixing across every reactor, eliminating concentration drift, solvent loss, and variability. For reaction screening, that means you can safely test everything from mild ambient reactions to challenging, pressurized ones — all in the same automated workflow.
Scaling up and dialing in pressure reactions
If your catalyst screens demand larger volumes or higher pressures, the Optimization Sampling Reactor (OSR) is the perfect fit. Run up to 48 experiments in parallel or sequence. Each reactor has independent control of temperature, pressure, and gas or liquid feeds. Screen multiple catalysts, loadings, substrates, or solvent systems side by side and work out the best conditions.
The OSR covers a wide operating range – up to 750 psi (51.7 bar), -15 °C to 200 °C, and working volumes from <1 - 25 mL per reaction. Reactions are prepared directly in glass vials on the Stuntman deck. Each reactor includes an antechamber for sampling under full temperature and pressure, so you can monitor progress or pull aliquots mid-run without disturbing reaction equilibrium.
The OSR heated reactor top keeps your solutions in the vial, while overhead stirring ensures uniform mixing even in heterogeneous or slurry systems. Start reactions by turning on the gas line or by adding catalysts or reactants through the injection port. Each gas inlet is precisely metered, so you can add discrete amounts of reactive gases and track uptake throughout the run.
The injection arm handles liquid or slurry additions with ease. If you’re injecting a catalyst to kick off a reaction, the needle bore is wide enough to pick up and transfer a slurry. When reactions finish, quenching is just as controlled. Stuntman’s software automatically monitors gas uptake or time per reactor and triggers quenching or sampling when thresholds are hit. The same injection arm doubles as a sampling tool, pulling small, representative aliquots from each reactor. That means you can perform true kinetic studies — capturing data at defined timepoints to analyze conversion, selectivity, impurity formation, and catalyst stability using your preferred analytical tools.
Integrations
With Stuntman, the integrations and add-ons are endless. Use Stuntman’s built-in AI or Python API to connect with your own tools and data systems. Drop in modules for filtration, dilution, evaporation, reaction work-ups or hook it up to third party systems for prep, processing or analysis. Keep expanding as our science evolves.
Stuntman
Stuntman has natural-language AI embedded directly into the system to help plan and design smarter experiments, close the loop faster, and adapt as conditions change, while hardware is configured upfront to fit your workflow. The result is faster iteration, more informative data, and automation that finally keeps pace with real science, whether you’re working in chemistry, biologics, materials, or beyond.
Want more info?
Every lab has different bottlenecks and challenges. We’re all about partnering with you to build the bespoke solution that lets you do science faster and better. Have questions or can’t wait to speak with our expert team to find out what might be possible?