MolDraw Blog

Actionable chemistry content for students, researchers, and teams. Learn chemical draw workflows, chemistry drawing best practices, ChemDraw online alternatives, cleaner reaction schemes, and practical workflows for 2D and 3D chemistry visualization.

Showing all blog categories.

Illustration of a chemical database linked to compound records for phenol, caffeine and pyridine, with a search magnifier
Databases

Free Chemical Databases: A Practical Guide

PubChem, ChEMBL, ChEBI, ZINC, RCSB PDB, UniChem, nmrshiftdb2, MassBank, COCONUT and SureChEMBL compared, with verified sizes, licences and real API queries.

Read database guide
Illustration of a web page with the MolDraw editor embedded in an iframe, showing the caffeine structure
Embed

Embed the MolDraw editor on your site

Copy one iframe and paste the MolDraw editor into a blog, lesson, docs page, or app. Set the frame height and preview the player first.

Read article
Aldol condensation scheme: two acetaldehyde molecules react with base and heat to give crotonaldehyde, with the new C=C bond highlighted
Reaction

Aldol Condensation

Learn the aldol condensation with rendered reaction schemes, two examples, reaction SMILES, conditions, and an edit-in-MolDraw button.

Read reaction
Wittig reaction scheme: benzaldehyde reacts with the ylide Ph3P=CH2 to give styrene, with the new C=C double bond highlighted
Reaction

Wittig Reaction

Understand Wittig olefination with example schemes, phosphonium ylide context, reaction SMILES, and MolDraw editing links.

Read reaction
Grignard reaction scheme: benzaldehyde with phenylmagnesium bromide, then acid workup, gives diphenylmethanol, with the new C–C bond highlighted
Reaction

Grignard Reaction

Explore carbonyl addition by Grignard reagents with rendered examples, typical dry conditions, and editable reaction schemes.

Read reaction
Suzuki coupling scheme: bromobenzene and phenylboronic acid with a palladium catalyst and base give biphenyl, with the new aryl–aryl bond highlighted
Reaction

Suzuki Coupling

Reference guide for Suzuki-Miyaura coupling, including biaryl examples, reaction SMILES, conditions, and internal reaction links.

Read reaction
Heck reaction scheme: bromobenzene and methyl acrylate with a palladium catalyst and base give methyl cinnamate, with the new C–C bond highlighted
Reaction

Heck Reaction

Quick guide to palladium-catalyzed alkene arylation with rendered examples, product classes, and edit-in-MolDraw links.

Read reaction
Friedel–Crafts acylation scheme: benzene with acetyl chloride and AlCl3 gives acetophenone, with the new ring–carbonyl C–C bond highlighted
Reaction

Friedel-Crafts Acylation

Electrophilic aromatic substitution guide with acetophenone examples, acyl chloride conditions, and rendered reaction samples.

Read reaction
Diels–Alder reaction scheme: 1,3-butadiene and ethylene combine on heating to give cyclohexene, with the two new C–C sigma bonds highlighted
Reaction

Diels-Alder Reaction

Learn the [4+2] cycloaddition with rendered diene and dienophile examples, reaction SMILES, and MolDraw editor buttons.

Read reaction
Skeletal structure of caffeine, molecular formula C8H10N4O2: a purine ring system with two carbonyl groups and three N-methyl groups
Molecule

Caffeine Structure

Caffeine page with structure image, lazy 3D viewer, SMILES, InChI, formula, molecular weight, class, and editor link.

Read molecule
Skeletal structure of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), molecular formula C9H8O4: a benzene ring with an ester and a carboxylic acid group
Molecule

Aspirin Structure

Aspirin reference with acetylsalicylic acid structure, 3D preview, identifiers, properties, drug class, and MolDraw link.

Read molecule
Skeletal structure of ibuprofen, molecular formula C13H18O2: a para-substituted benzene ring with an isobutyl group and a propanoic acid group
Molecule

Ibuprofen Structure

Ibuprofen structure page with SMILES, InChI, 3D viewer, molecular properties, NSAID class, and direct editor loading.

Read molecule
Skeletal structure of paracetamol (acetaminophen), molecular formula C8H9NO2: a para-substituted benzene ring with an acetamide and a hydroxyl group
Molecule

Paracetamol Structure

Paracetamol and acetaminophen reference page with structure, identifiers, properties, drug class, and MolDraw editor button.

Read molecule
Skeletal structure of glucose in its six-membered pyranose ring form, molecular formula C6H12O6, with wedge and hash bonds showing stereochemistry
Molecule

Glucose Structure

Glucose page covering carbohydrate structure, 3D conformer preview, SMILES, InChI, molecular properties, and editor link.

Read molecule
Grid of six chemistry tool icons: flask, balance, spectrum, atom, periodic table and calculator
Tools

Complete Guide to All MolDraw Free Chemistry Tools

The full linked directory of every MolDraw converter, calculator, drawing utility, and teaching tool—55+ tools with direct links and workflow tips.

Read complete guide
Illustration of a calculator showing a molar mass of 180.16 g/mol next to a conical flask and a benzene ring
Tools

Free Chemistry Tools and Calculators

A standalone guide to MolDraw tools: converters, calculators, structure utilities, TLC diagram tool, periodic table, and file helpers.

Read tools guide
Editor window drawing a reaction scheme: benzene with acetyl chloride and AlCl3 gives acetophenone, with the arrow tool selected
Reaction drawing

Chemical Reaction Drawer Online

Draw chemical reactions online with reactants, products, arrows, reagents, conditions, and editable MolDraw reaction examples.

Open reaction drawer
Browser molecule editor with a drawing toolbar and the ibuprofen structure on the canvas, plus a Copy SMILES button
Guide

Ketcher Online Molecule Editor Guide

A detailed search-focused guide to Ketcher, browser molecule editors, structure drawing workflows, chemistry formats, and online alternatives.

Read article
MolDraw desktop app window showing the aspirin structure, with a large download button
Download

Download MolDraw for Windows (Free)

Official SEO landing page: Windows installer link, what MolDraw includes, system requirements, install steps, and the browser app alternative.

Read article
MolDraw canvas with the background grid turned on behind the acetophenone structure, and the Show grid switch set to on
Interactive

How to Turn On the Grid in MolDraw

Three ways to show the canvas grid, plus Snap to grid, with an interactive step-by-step demo you can pause and replay.

Read article
Water molecule drawn with two lone pairs of electrons on the oxygen atom, one labelled lone pair
New

How to Add Lone Pair in MolDraw

A short, practical step-by-step guide to adding lone pairs: select atom, right-click, Edit, then use the Radical dropdown.

Read article
Aspirin structure drawn in a chemical drawing program, labelled with its IUPAC-style name 2-acetoxybenzoic acid
New

Free Chemical Drawing Software and Chemistry Drawing Program

A practical MolDraw-focused guide for chemical drawing software, free chemistry drawing software, browser workflows, and exports.

Read article
Pencil drawing the last bond of a benzene ring on a dotted drawing canvas
New

Chemistry Draw Online Guide

A lightweight guide for chemistry draw, chemical drawing, online chemistry drawing, structure communication, and practical FAQs.

Read article
Side-by-side comparison: a paid desktop chemical editor and the free MolDraw browser editor, both showing caffeine
New

ChemDraw vs MolDraw: Free ChemDraw Alternative

A technical comparison for online ChemDraw, free ChemDraw searches, browser chemical drawing, exports, and reaction workflows.

Read article
Arrow from an old desktop chemistry program to the MolDraw browser editor showing the paracetamol structure
Priority

ChemSketch Alternative: Free Online Chemical Structure Editor

What is ChemSketch / ACD ChemSketch? Free online chemical structure editor alternative with a direct MolDraw editor CTA.

Open page
MolDraw browser editor showing the ibuprofen structure, with a Free price tag
Priority

ChemSketch Free & ACD ChemSketch Freeware

Acquisition page for ChemSketch free and freeware searches—use MolDraw free in the browser instead of hunting installers.

Open page
A greyed-out download icon with an arrow pointing to the MolDraw browser editor showing benzaldehyde, marked with a check
Priority

ChemSketch Download → Try MolDraw

ChemSketch is no longer available to new users. Run MolDraw in your browser—CTA above the fold.

Open page
Laptop running the MolDraw editor in a browser with the caffeine structure on the canvas
Featured

Draw Chemical Structures Online

How to choose and use a chemical structure drawing app for online molecule drawings, reactions, naming support, and export-ready outputs.

Read article
Soon

TLC Interpretation and Reporting Workflow

End-to-end TLC documentation with Rf tracking and publication-ready plate diagrams.

Soon

NMR + IR Sanity Checks for Faster Assignments

A practical checklist to validate spectral assignments before writing reports.

Last updated:

Related tools & guides

Guide to all MolDraw toolsEvery free tool in one placeFree chemistry tools and calculatorsPick the right tool fastAll chemistry toolsConverters, calculators, viewersMolDraw editorDraw structures in your browserLearn MolDrawShort hands-on lessonsMolDraw docsHow to use the editorEmbed MolDrawPut the editor on your siteChemDraw vs MolDrawA free alternative