Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Toward Unraveling The Mechanisms Of “Green” Mechanochemical Reactions, Richard Chen, Mehmet Kerem Gokus

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The mechanical processing of solids, such as milling or grinding powders, often leads to mechanochemical reactions. Mechanochemistry affords “green” synthetic routes avoiding or reducing the use of solvents, thus providing environmentally friendly and cost-effective synthetic alternatives for many materials. The solid-state reactants are usually ground together with small quantities of organic solvents, called “liquid assisted grinding” (LAG). LAG increases the reaction rates, it can yield products from otherwise unreactive mixtures, it increases the products crystallinity, and it selectively leads to crystal structures (polymorphs) of the products, depending on the quantities and physicochemical properties of the liquids used in LAG.

Mechanochemistry …