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Home Automated Lab Reactors and In-Situ Analysis Chemical Synthesis Reactors

Chemical Synthesis Reactors

Automation for Every Chemist

The innovative chemical synthesis reactors EasyMax™ and OptiMax™ are easy-to-use platforms that accurately execute recipes and precisely control reaction parameters, thus enabling highly reproducible reactions. Experiment procedures can be run unattended around the clock, and all data is automatically recorded and ready to be instantly shared. Automated chemical synthesis reactors are well established in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, and they are essential to speed up time-to-market cycles at lower R&D costs.

automated chemical synthesis reactors

automated chemical synthesis reactors
Contact us today to see how we can improve your synthesis workflows.

Chemical Synthesis Reactors with Built-in Automation Tools

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EasyMax 102

Basic and Advanced Models

The ideal parallel synthesis workstation to replace the round-bottom flask in the lab.

Temperature Range: -40 °C – 180 °C
Operating Volume: 1 mL – 100 mL

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EasyMax 402

Basic and Advanced Models

Automated parallel synthesis workstation with larger reaction vessels.

Temperature Range: -40 °C – 180 °C
Operating Volume: 40 mL – 400 mL

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OptiMax 1001

Pilot Scale Safety Applications

Simplify organic chemistry and eliminate dangerous handling of oil and ice baths.

Temperature Range: -40 °C – 180 °C
Operating Volume: 60 mL – 1,000 mL

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EasyMax 102 LowTemp (LT)

Basic and Advanced Models

Designed for low temperatures. Special purging of the reactor zone prevents icing.

Temperature Range: -90 °C – 80 °C
Operating Volume: 1 mL – 100 mL

chemical reactor automation

chemical reactor automation

Repeatable Chemistry Around the Clock

Based on our partnerships with leading scientists, we understand the challenges faced in chemical labs. Our chemical reactors are designed to minimize bottlenecks and maximize efficiency. 

More than ever, scientists are looking to automate tedious and manual chemical synthesis procedures. Automation of reaction conditions, experiment controls, and data collection increases personal productivity while ensuring safe operations and repeatable chemistry day and night.

chemical synthesis reactors product catalog

Customize Your Workstation

With reactor volumes ranging from lab to plant scale, we offer a comprehensive selection of chemical synthesis equipment and accessories to meet your unique application:

  • Variety of reactors over the entire volume range
  • Dosing options
  • Various mixing possibilities

View the Synthesis Workstations Product Catalog.

chemical synthesis workstation

Innovation Starts with Understanding

Every scientist needs to gain information to answer critical questions when innovating molecules, optimizing reaction routes, and creating robust and safe processes. METTLER TOLEDO chemical synthesis reactors integrate seamlessly with in-situ probes, including the EasySampler automated sampling system, ReactIR FTIR spectrometers, and EasyViewer particle size analyzers. The consolidated data stream of reaction parameters, together with information on kinetics, reaction mechanisms, impurity profiles, and particle attributes, provide critical answers when adapting lab processes to the plant, especially when paired with the advanced modeling software of Reaction Lab and Dynochem. The integrated solution enables scientists to deliver life-changing products faster and more cost-efficiently.

icontrol software

Powerful Chemistry Made Easy

Enhance capabilities with iControl software to develop scalable processes by qualifying the required design space and combining reactor data with information from process analytical tools (PAT). Make more accurate judgments and complete projects efficiently. ​

iControl records all actions during the experiment for full traceability and easy reuse of recipes. Preprogram some or all your tasks for unattended operation. Set points can also be changed directly on the reactor graphic or by dragging and dropping tasks into the procedure.

optimax viewing

Ensure Safe, Robust, and Scalable Processes

OptiMax lab reactor systems are designed to ensure safe, robust, and scalable processes. Researchers can characterize and optimize chemical reactions on the liter scale before going to manufacturing. OptiMax chemical reactors are applied for go/no-go safety considerations when scaling up by identifying enthalpy, heat capacity, as well as heat and mass transfer under process-like conditions. OptiMax synthesis reactors are widely applied when engineering particles by crystallization with particle size analyzers.

safe chemical synthesis

Sustain a Culture of Safety with Chemical Reactors

Solutions that enable a culture of safety must fulfill the needs of every scientist, minimize all risks to ensure maximum personal safety, enable the development of process conditions that match large-scale operations, and assess hazards to predict the risks of a process.

We developed EasyMax and OptiMax to limit or eliminate chemical exposure, maximizing personal safety in the laboratory by controlling preprogrammed reactions safely and automatically. Reduce exposure risk and design processes that are inherently safer.

reactor vessels and reactor accessories

Synthesis Reactors to Fit Your Chemistry

Discover breakthrough molecules and explore novel synthetic steps. With a broad application range, automated chemical reactors pose no limits on your creativity and productivity in the chemical synthesis laboratory. Reactor volumes range from 8 mL tubes to 1 L vessels, and one- or two-piece reactors fit your chemistry and workflow.

EasyMax and Optimax chemical synthesis reactors operate at temperatures from -90 °C to 180 °C and offer overhead and magnetic stirring, as well as vacuum, ambient, and high-pressure chemistry, making it easy and enjoyable to solve complex chemistry problems.

View all accessories.

Reaction Analysis Modeling to Drive Green Chemistry and Sustainable Development

Examples of Reaction Control, Analysis, and Modeling to Drive Green Chemistry and Sustainable Development

Drive sustainable development through green chemistry practices by achieving efficiency and reducing...

The Modern Synthesis Lab

The Modern Synthesis Lab

This white paper discusses a new toolbox specifically designed for chemists that expands experimenta...

Guide to Process Safety

Guide to Chemical Process Safety

Guide to Process Safety discusses challenges to consider when designing a safe process including the...

Precise Measurement and In-Depth Understanding of Reaction Kinetics and Thermodynamics

Achieve Safer, More Robust Processes in Highly Reactive Chemistry

This research collection summarizes recent articles from the global chemistry literature that show h...

Driving Safety Culture in Chemical Process Development

Driving Safety Culture in Chemical Process Development

Perform less hazardous chemical synthesis and build personal, process, and environmental safety in e...

Dosing in Chemical Development

Safe, Unattended Dosing in Chemical Development & Scale-up

Grünenthal Process R&D safely automates dosing and runs highly exothermic reactions unattended to in...

What is a chemical synthesis reactor?

Chemical synthesis reactors are vessels in which chemical reactions take place. Reaction parameters, such as temperature, dosing, stirring, and sampling, are set to perform a synthesis reaction. The accuracy and precision of those reaction parameters play an important role in the selectivity, conversion, and reproducibility of the chemical reaction.

What are the types of chemical synthesis reactors?

There are three types of chemical reactors:

  1. Batch reactors
  2. Continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTR)
  3. Plug flow reactors (PFR)

Batch reactors are stirred-tank reactors where the chemical reaction occurs in a confined space over a period of time.

Continuous stirred-tank reactors, or semi-batch reactors, add reactants continuously while removing by-products.

Plug-flow reactors are usually tubular reactors, where the conversion of chemical reactions is influenced by residence time.

What are the challenges with traditional synthesis reactors?

The preparation of manual lab equipment tends to be cumbersome and slow while putting the scientist at risk of exposure. Traditional setups also tend to be poorly controlled when limiting the range of reaction parameters, including T, p, pH, and sampling, which risks inconsistent and non-reproducible results. Information gaps limit understanding if data is not recorded or documentation is lost.

How can I automate my lab reactor?

chemical reactor control system

METTLER TOLEDO automated chemical synthesis reactor systems are designed for quick start-up, easy handling, precise control, intrinsic safety, and seamless data analysis and reporting.

  • Initiate recipes from the preconfigured home screen touchscreen or software.
  • Control reaction parameters from touchscreen or software, assuring better data quality and complete data sets.
  • Automate active cooling to allow fast temperature control and avoid unexpected side products. 
  • Automate data export to share visualization and traceability of results when you need them.

Additionally, the RX-10 reactor control system can connect to your existing jacketed lab reactor to automate cumbersome tasks for those who do not need full workstation setups. This reactor control system uses the same touchscreen interface as the full workstations for seamless workflows.

Do METTLER TOLEDO chemical synthesis reactors support Design of Experiment (DoE) studies?

doe design of experiments

doe design of experiments

Because our chemical synthesis reactors are designed to minimize bottlenecks and maximize the efficiency of the chemical laboratory, our models easily enable Design of Experiment (DoE) studies to produce high-quality experimental data. You can use METTLER TOLEDO reactors to optimize reaction and process parameters and explore how various combinations of settings such as temperature, pH, dosing, and stirring affect outcomes.

What is the difference between Basic and Advanced models?

EasyMax Advanced offers more features than its Basic counterpart. The Advanced personal synthesis workstation offers a more comprehensive platform for information management, including graph trends and task sequences on the touchscreen and full data capture/experiment documentation. You can also easily integrate and add the capabilities of:

  • iC Data Center™ software, to share data and build institutional knowledge
  • iControl™ software for planning, advanced control, and data evaluation
  • Heat flow calorimetry for process safety screening to identify, eliminate, and correct non-scalable reaction conditions

The 102 and 402 designations indicate the maximum volume and number of reactors available in the given workstation (i.e. 102 = up to two 100 mL vessels, while 402 = up to two 400 mL vessels)

See all Basic and Advanced models:

Can I connect my reactor to third-party accessories?

chemical synthesis reactor workstation

Yes! The Easy Control Box (ECB) accessory, purchased separately, extends your reactor for automated control and data capture of third-party devices, including sensors and dosing/sampling solutions.

ECB provides dosing control capabilities and easily connects commercially available pumps and balances for automated pre-programmed gravimetric or volumetric dosing. The accessory has plug-and-measure functionality with SmartConnect technology sensors. Control elements are automatically recognized, making reactor configuration simple and easy.  

Learn more about Easy Control Box (ECB).

Automated Chemical Synthesis Reactors in Peer-Reviewed Publications

Below is a selection of publications about chemical synthesis reactors.​

  1. Brzęczek-Szafran, A., Siewniak, A., & Chrobok, A. (2023). Assessment of Green Chemistry Metrics for Carbon Dioxide Fixation into Cyclic Carbonates Using Eutectic Mixtures as Catalyst: Comprehensive Evaluation on the Example of a Tannic Acid-Derived System. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 11(31), 11415–11423. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c01006
  2. Chen, Z., Xu, F., Ni, L., Jiang, J., Yu, Y., & Pan, Y. (2023). Investigating semibatch oxidation reaction of dimethyl sulfoxide with hydrogen peroxide: Thermal analysis and process optimization. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 105172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2023.105172
  3. Zhang, Y., Ni, L., Yao, H., Chen, Q., Jiang, J., Shu, C., Chen, Z., Li, C., & Zhang, W. (2023). Reaction Mechanism and Process Safety Assessment of Acid-Catalyzed Synthesis of Tert-Butyl Peracetate. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 81, 104944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2022.104944
  4. Kansy, D., Czaja, K., Bosowska, K. & Groch, P. (2022). Ionic Liquids as Homogeneous Catalysts for Glycerol Oligomerization. Polymers, 14(6), 1200. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14061200
  5. Stachowiak, W., Kaczmarek, D.K., Rzemieniecki, T. & Niemczak, M. (2022). Sustainable Design of New Ionic Forms of Vitamin B3 and Their Utilization as Plant Protection Agents. Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry, 70(27), 8222–8232. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.2c01807
  6. Voßnacker, P., Schwarze, N., Keilhack, T., Kleoff, M., Steinhauer, S., Schiesser, Y., Paven, M., Yogendra, S., Weber, R., & Riedel, S. (2022). Alkyl ammonium chloride salts for efficient chlorine storage at ambient conditions. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 10(29), 9525–9531. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c02186
  7. Wysokowski, M., Nowacki, K., Jaworski, F., Niemczak, M., Bartczak, P., Sandomierski, M., Piasecki, A., Galiński, M., & Jesionowski, T.(2022). Ionic Liquid-Assisted Synthesis of Chitin–Ethylene Glycol Hydrogels as Electrolyte Membranes for Sustainable Electrochemical Capacitors. Scientific Reports, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12931-w
  8. Yang, Q., Canturk, B., Gray, K. C., McCusker, E. O., Sheng, M., & Li, F. (2018). Evaluation of Potential Safety Hazards Associated with the Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-Coupling of Aryl Bromides with Vinylboron Species. Organic Process Research & Development, 22(3), 351–359. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.oprd.8b00001
  9. Buetti-Weekly, M. T., Clifford, P., Jones, B. P., & Nelson, J. D. (2017). Development of a safe and scalable process for the preparation of allyl glyoxalate. Organic Process Research & Development, 22(1), 82–90. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.oprd.7b00345
  10. METTLER TOLEDO Application Note based on studies by Brian Vanderplas and David Place, Pfizer​. (2017, May 2). Kinetics of a C-H activation reaction. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. All Rights Reserved. https://www.mt.com/us/en/home/library/applications/automated-reactors/Kinetics-of-a-C-H-Activation-Reaction.html
  11. Gurung, S. R., Mitchell, C., Huang, J., Jonas, M., Strawser, J. D., Daia, E., Hardy, A., O’Brien, E. M., Hicks, F. A., & Papageorgiou, C. D. (2016). Development and scale-up of an efficient miyaura borylation process using tetrahydroxydiboron. Organic Process Research & Development, 21(1), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.oprd.6b00345
  12. Quell, T., Hecken, N., Dyballa, K. M., Franke, R., & Waldvogel, S. R. (2016). Scalable and selective preparation of 3,3′,5,5′-Tetramethyl-2,2′-biphenol. Organic Process Research & Development, 21(1), 79–84. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.oprd.6b00356