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New benchmark RxnOptBench tests LLMs on chemical reaction optimization

Researchers have developed RxnOptBench, a new benchmark designed to evaluate the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) in optimizing chemical reaction conditions. Unlike previous benchmarks that focus on tasks like reaction classification or retrosynthesis, RxnOptBench specifically assesses LLMs' ability to analyze real-world reaction-screening tables and select optimal parameters such as catalyst, ligand, solvent, temperature, and time. The benchmark, which uses data from 2025 organic methodology papers, measures performance based on a combined score of yield and stereoselectivity metrics like enantiomeric excess (ee), diastereomeric ratio (dr), and regioisomeric ratio (rr). Initial testing across several frontier and chemistry-specialized LLMs revealed significant room for improvement, with even top-performing models struggling on multi-axis selection tasks. AI

IMPACT This benchmark could drive the development of more capable LLMs for scientific applications, particularly in chemistry.

RANK_REASON The item describes a new benchmark and evaluation of LLMs for a specific scientific task, fitting the research category. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=1.0]

Read on arXiv cs.AI →

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New benchmark RxnOptBench tests LLMs on chemical reaction optimization

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The item describes a new benchmark and evaluation of LLMs for a specific scientific task, fitting the research category. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=1.0]
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COVERAGE [1]

  1. arXiv cs.AI TIER_1 English(EN) · Lingli Ge, Yubin Wang, Junyuan Gao, Jiahe Song, Jiaxing Sun, Boyu Zhu, Haote Yang, Jingchao Wang, Lixin Ma, Jiang Wu, Yuqiang Li, Conghui He ·

    RxnOptBench: Benchmarking LLMs for Reaction-Condition Optimization in Organic Methodology

    arXiv:2610.02242v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Chemical reaction-condition optimization -- choosing the catalyst, ligand, solvent, reagent, temperature, time, and atmosphere that jointly maximize yield and stereoselectivity -- is a central, judgement-laden subtask of organic m…