Automated synthesis of oxygen-producing catalysts from Martian meteorites by a robotic AI chemist

Living on Mars requires the ability to synthesize chemicals that are essential for survival, such as oxygen, from local Martian resources. However, this is a challenging task. Here we demonstrate a robotic artificial-intelligence chemist for automated synthesis and intelligent optimization of catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction from Martian meteorites. The entire process, including Martian ore pretreatment, catalyst synthesis, characterization, testing and, most importantly, the search for the optimal catalyst formula, is performed without human intervention. Using a machine-learning model derived from both first-principles data and experimental measurements, this method automatically and rapidly identifies the optimal catalyst formula from more than three million possible compositions. The synthesized catalyst operates at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 for over 550,000 s of operation with an overpotential of 445.1 mV, demonstrating the feasibility of the artificial-intelligence chemist in the automated synthesis of chemicals and materials for Mars exploration. Sustained Mars exploration requires in situ synthesis of vital chemicals such as oxygen. Now a data-driven platform for synthesizing oxygen-producing electrocatalysts from Martian meteorites using robotics and artificial intelligence is developed, allowing automated screening of the optimal catalyst formula. This approach demonstrates materials discovery under challenging circumstances and without human intervention.