AR for Chemistry
Interactive 3D & AR for molecular and materials chemistry
Stereochemistry, binding sites, and crystal packing make sense when you can turn the molecule in your hands instead of squinting at a wedge-and-dash drawing.
Chemistry lives in three dimensions — chirality, conformation, orbital overlap, and crystal packing are all spatial — yet most of it is taught and published as flat 2D structures. AcademicAR takes a 3D model exported from your modelling software and publishes it as an interactive viewer with augmented reality, so a protein active site or a unit cell can be rotated, zoomed, and placed on a real desk.
Generate the geometry in PyMOL, VMD, Avogadro, Mercury, or any tool that exports GLB/OBJ/STL, upload it, and share a QR code on your poster, slide, or supplementary materials.
Why chemistry needs interactive 3D
Stereochemistry stops being abstract.
R/S configuration and axial vs. equatorial positions are obvious when the model turns; they're guesswork on paper.
Show binding, not just structure.
Rotate a ligand inside its pocket to convey shape complementarity and key contacts that a single rendered view hides.
Make crystallography tangible.
Place a unit cell or a packing diagram at a graspable size so symmetry and layering read instantly.
How it works
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01
Upload your model
Drop in a GLB, STL, OBJ, or FBX file. It's converted and optimized for the web automatically.
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02
Get a viewer & QR code
You get an interactive 3D viewer with tap-to-place AR, a short link, and a permanent QR code.
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03
Share anywhere
Place the QR code on a slide, poster, handout, label, or paper — no app, no headset for your audience.
Ways chemistry teams use it
Conference posters
A QR code next to your 2D scheme lets reviewers open the real 3D structure and inspect the geometry you're arguing about.
Teaching organic & inorganic
Hand students a model of the exact molecule on the slide so they can check stereochemistry themselves.
Supplementary information
Deposit interactive structures alongside a paper so readers explore conformers and complexes instead of static figures.
Chemistry FAQ
Which formats can I upload from chemistry software?
Export to GLB, OBJ, STL, or FBX from PyMOL, VMD, Avogadro, Blender, or Mercury and AcademicAR converts and optimizes it for the web. (Raw PDB/CIF files should be turned into a mesh first.)
Can I keep my atom colors and materials?
Yes — colors and materials baked into your exported GLB are preserved, and you can recolor the model later without breaking the QR code.
Is AR useful for small molecules?
Very — placing even a small molecule at a graspable scale on a desk makes conformation and symmetry far easier to reason about than a flat drawing.
Can readers view it without installing anything?
Yes. The viewer is a standard web page; AR placement works in the browser on most modern phones.
Can I add labels to atoms or sites?
You can place annotation hotspots to call out an active site, a substituent, or a coordination center.
Explore other fields
Publish your first chemistry model
Create a free account, upload a model, and share an interactive 3D & AR figure in minutes.