Flow into the chemistry curriculum

It’s ironic that chemists are experts at change, except when it comes to their own practice. Mark Gilligan recently wrote about chemists’ reluctance to adopt flow chemistry as an example of this innate resistance to change. I have seen that same resistance, and I understand it. Why would you suddenly change your habits and embrace an expensive new technology?

Gilligan argued that part of the problem is that chemists are often put off when they try to build their own equipment and it doesn’t work – unlike the off-the-shelf machines he sells. But in my experience, this doesn’t have to be true. Flow chemistry is a perfect example of the challenges new ideas and technologies face in overcoming established, traditional methods. And the best way to overcome these challenges is education.