Chuan Wang, Cheng Yang, Jie Wu, Ziqiu Wang and Kun Yang
{"title":"How external forces affect the degradation properties of perfluorooctanoic acid in mechanochemical degradation: a DFT study†","authors":"Chuan Wang, Cheng Yang, Jie Wu, Ziqiu Wang and Kun Yang","doi":"10.1039/D5MR00048C","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MR00048C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), recognized as a persistent organic pollutant, poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. Currently, mechanochemical degradation is considered a highly promising technology for the degradation of PFOA. This study systematically employs density functional theory (DFT) and the COGEF (COnstrained GEometry to simulate Forces) model to deeply investigate the impact of external forces on the degradation properties of PFOA molecules. Through quantum chemical calculations, we analyzed in detail the changes in the electronic structure, chemical reactivity, and decarboxylation reaction process of PFOA molecules under the influence of external forces. The results show that the application of external forces significantly alters the electronic density distribution of PFOA molecules, thereby enhancing their reactive activity, especially in terms of nucleophilicity and radical reactivity at the carboxylate end. Moreover, the application of external mechanical force reduces the Gibbs free energy change of the decarboxylation reaction, thereby making the reaction energetically favorable. This study not only theoretically elucidates the mechanism of mechanochemical degradation of PFOA, but also provides a basis for optimizing its mechanochemical degradation technology. In addition, this study also provides a systematic theoretical perspective for exploring the mechanisms of mechanochemical degradation.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 5","pages":" 692-705"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/mr/d5mr00048c?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144929126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Silvina Pagola, James Howard, Johannes Merkelbach and Danny Stam
{"title":"Amorphous quininium aspirinate from neat mechanochemistry: diffracting nanocrystalline domains and quick recrystallization upon exposure to solvent vapours†‡","authors":"Silvina Pagola, James Howard, Johannes Merkelbach and Danny Stam","doi":"10.1039/D5MR00028A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MR00028A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Quininium aspirinate is mechanochemically prepared as a crystalline solid by liquid-assisted grinding, or as an amorphous phase (as determined by X-ray powder diffraction), by neat grinding or neat ball milling. Our previous work demonstrated using FT-IR spectroscopy that a mechanochemical reaction had occurred in the mechanically treated neat mixtures. Herein is reported that microcrystal electron diffraction (microED) afforded the discovery of two diffracting micron-size particles in the amorphous powder synthesized by manual grinding, among a majority of non-diffracting particles. Remarkably, microED data of one of them led to the known lattice parameters of quininium aspirinate. Furthermore, this so-called ‘X-ray amorphous’ phase quickly recrystallizes upon exposure to vapors of <em>N</em>,<em>N</em>-dimethylformamide, or hexane vapours (at a lower rate); but it remains amorphous for longer than 20 months when stored at ambient conditions in a closed container. The lattice parameters and the degrees of crystallinity of both recrystallized materials are identical within the experimental error. However, slightly more intense and better-resolved X-ray powder diffraction peaks are observed in the material recrystallized from <em>N</em>,<em>N</em>-dimethylformamide vapours than in the analogous phase recovered from hexane. As expected, Williamson–Hall graphs lead to a larger average crystalline domain size for the former solid. These results illustrate the use of microED for the investigation of structural features in amorphous phases, and the generic role of the solvent vapours in promoting their recrystallization.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 5","pages":" 670-679"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/mr/d5mr00028a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144929143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Angela A. Colmanet, Daniel K. Unruh and Ryan H. Groeneman
{"title":"Dry-vortex grinding facilitates a [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction that triggers a cascade-like reaction that improves the yield under substoichiometric conditions†","authors":"Angela A. Colmanet, Daniel K. Unruh and Ryan H. Groeneman","doi":"10.1039/D5MR00025D","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MR00025D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The ability to achieve a series of photoreactive solids using dry-vortex grinding that contains <em>trans</em>-1,2-bis(2-pyridyl)ethylene along with 2,4,6-trifluorophenol at different molar ratios is reported. In all cases, mechanochemical grinding generates a three-component hydrogen-bonded co-crystal that undergoes a [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction. Curiously, the solids formed with a substoichiometric ratio of the template also reached a nearly quantitative yield, since the formation of the photoproduct causes a cascade-like reaction within the solid which shifts the remaining reactant molecules into a suitable position to photoreact.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 5","pages":" 631-635"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/mr/d5mr00025d?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144929165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mechanochemistry assisted aqueous two-phase extraction: an efficient technique to extract high-purity juglone from the bark of Juglans mandshurica","authors":"Shuang Wei, Xinbiao Zhou and Jun Xi","doi":"10.1039/D4MR00132J","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MR00132J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The bark of <em>Juglans mandshurica</em> (BJM) is a Chinese herbal medicine containing a variety of nutrients and pharmacologically active compounds. Juglone, one of the important active ingredients in BJM, has been shown by many pharmacological studies to have antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-tumor, immunoregulatory and other pharmacological properties. Mechanochemistry assisted aqueous two-phase extraction (MAATPE) was successfully established to extract juglone from BJM, combining the purification effect of an alcohol/salt aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) with the high efficiency of mechanochemistry. The key parameters of MAATPE were systematically optimized through single factor analysis and response surface methodology. Under the optimal conditions of an ethanol/NaH<small><sub>2</sub></small>PO<small><sub>4</sub></small> aqueous two-phase system as the liquid reagent, 21.5% (w/w) ethanol concentration, 28% (w/w) NaH<small><sub>2</sub></small>PO<small><sub>4</sub></small> concentration, 458 rpm milling speed, 14 min milling time and 59 mL g<small><sup>−1</sup></small> reagent–material ratio, the maximum yield of juglone was 15.36 ± 0.16 mg g<small><sup>−1</sup></small> with a purity of 9.82 ± 0.12% in dry extracts. Compared with other extraction methods, it was found that MAATPE can not only improve the extraction efficiency of juglone, but also achieve higher juglone purity in the products. Finally, the mechanism of action, recyclability and industrial scalability of MAATPE are discussed. In conclusion, MAATPE is an appropriate alternative for the efficient preparation of high-purity products from natural resources.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 5","pages":" 680-691"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/mr/d4mr00132j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144929141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Danilo Marchetti, Enrico Dalcanale, Roberta Pinalli, Mauro Gemmi, Alessandro Pedrini and Chiara Massera
{"title":"Fluorination of mechanochemically synthesized metal–organic frameworks for PFAS adsorption in water†","authors":"Danilo Marchetti, Enrico Dalcanale, Roberta Pinalli, Mauro Gemmi, Alessandro Pedrini and Chiara Massera","doi":"10.1039/D5MR00043B","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MR00043B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose a significant environmental and health threat due to their persistence and widespread contamination of water sources. To address this challenge, this study explores the mechanochemical synthesis of two isoreticular highly interpenetrated MOFs, <strong>TPPM-mCPW(Ph)</strong> and <strong>TPPM-mCPW(<em>p</em>-FPh)</strong>, and investigates the influence of fluorine atoms decorating the framework on the affinity towards these pollutants. Furthermore, the dynamic structural responsiveness of these frameworks to external stimuli has been investigated. Adsorption experiments further highlighted the effect of framework fluorination on PFAS uptake, demonstrating its role in tuning material properties while maintaining structural connectivity. These results underline the potential of mechanochemistry in the discovery of novel metal–organic materials with promising applications in selective guest uptake.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 5","pages":" 662-669"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/mr/d5mr00043b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144929123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Franziska Habermann, Anneliese Wirth, Konrad Burkmann, Jakob Kraus, Bianca Störr, Hartmut Stöcker, Jürgen Seidel, Jens Kortus, Roman Gumeniuk, Klaus Bohmhammel and Florian Mertens
{"title":"Thermodynamic and kinetic study of the effect of LiCl and NaCl on the thermal dehydrogenation of Ca(AlH4)2†","authors":"Franziska Habermann, Anneliese Wirth, Konrad Burkmann, Jakob Kraus, Bianca Störr, Hartmut Stöcker, Jürgen Seidel, Jens Kortus, Roman Gumeniuk, Klaus Bohmhammel and Florian Mertens","doi":"10.1039/D4MR00140K","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MR00140K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The presented work sets out to investigate the dehydrogenation behaviour of Ca(AlH<small><sub>4</sub></small>)<small><sub>2</sub></small> + 2MCl (M = Li, Na) mixtures. In contrast to the by-product NaCl, which does not affect the decomposition of Ca(AlH<small><sub>4</sub></small>)<small><sub>2</sub></small>, LiCl influences its dehydrogenation onward from the formation of CaAlH<small><sub>5</sub></small>. Thermodynamic calculations were used to support and explain these findings as well as to investigate the potential of Ca(AlH<small><sub>4</sub></small>)<small><sub>2</sub></small> and CaAlH<small><sub>5</sub></small> for reversible hydrogen storage applications. For this purpose, their heat capacity functions and absolute entropies were determined in this study.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 4","pages":" 603-615"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/mr/d4mr00140k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144524491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Johanna Templ, Suhmi Hwang, Tino Schwemin, Hakan Baltaci and Lars Borchardt
{"title":"Thermally accelerated Heck reaction under direct mechanocatalysis using palladium milling balls†","authors":"Johanna Templ, Suhmi Hwang, Tino Schwemin, Hakan Baltaci and Lars Borchardt","doi":"10.1039/D5MR00032G","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5MR00032G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >We present a direct mechanocatalytic approach for the Mizoroki–Heck coupling of aryl iodides with olefins using palladium milling balls as catalyst under elevated temperatures in a ball milling reactor. The high chemoselectivity for C(sp<small><sup>2</sup></small>)–I bonds ensures a single product when employing multi-halogenated arenes. Additionally, a one-pot Wittig olefination/Heck cross-coupling enables direct access to stilbene derivatives from aldehydes and aryl iodides without intermediate isolation.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 4","pages":" 598-602"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12100728/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144144437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Laura E. English, Ross A. Jackson, Nicholas J. Evans, Dawid J. Babula, Harvey J. Draper, Sarah R. Brown, Joseph Fletcher, David J. Liptrot and Kyle G. Pearce
{"title":"Mechanochemically micronised Na/NaCl; a superfine reductant†","authors":"Laura E. English, Ross A. Jackson, Nicholas J. Evans, Dawid J. Babula, Harvey J. Draper, Sarah R. Brown, Joseph Fletcher, David J. Liptrot and Kyle G. Pearce","doi":"10.1039/D5MR00039D","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MR00039D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >A free-flowing, homogeneous and non-pyrophoric powder of Na/NaCl is prepared <em>via</em> planetary ball-milling. The mechanochemically micronised Na/NaCl serves as a highly activated source of sodium and was used to prepare [(<small><sup>Ar</sup></small>BDI)Mg]<small><sub>2</sub></small> (BDI = HC{(Me)CNAr}<small><sub>2</sub></small>; Ar = Dipp, 2,6-<em>i</em>-Pr<small><sub>2</sub></small>C<small><sub>6</sub></small>H<small><sub>3</sub></small>; Mes, 2,4,6-CH<small><sub>3</sub></small>C<small><sub>6</sub></small>H<small><sub>2</sub></small>) <em>via</em> ball milling in 75 and 45 minutes, respectively.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 4","pages":" 503-506"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/mr/d5mr00039d?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144524445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Konrad Burkmann, Franziska Habermann, Bianca Störr, Jürgen Seidel, Roman Gumeniuk, Klaus Bohmhammel and Florian Mertens
{"title":"Calorimetric determination of the heat capacity function and absolute entropy of yttrium borohydride (Y(BH4)3) mechanochemically prepared","authors":"Konrad Burkmann, Franziska Habermann, Bianca Störr, Jürgen Seidel, Roman Gumeniuk, Klaus Bohmhammel and Florian Mertens","doi":"10.1039/D4MR00124A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MR00124A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Over the last two decades, complex metal hydrides have attracted attention in various fields such as chemical hydrogen storage, solid state electrolytes and superconductivity. In this context, we determined thermodynamic properties of the complex metal hydride Y(BH<small><sub>4</sub></small>)<small><sub>3</sub></small>. Yttrium borohydride was prepared by solid state metathesis yielding a mixture containing three equivalents lithium chloride beside the boranate. The benefit of the mechanochemical preparation procedure compared to the classical wet chemical one is to avoid the desolvation step which can lead to a partial decomposition of the hydride. The heat capacity of the compound as a function of the temperature covering a temperature range from 2 K to 370 K was determined using two different calorimetric techniques. Based on the heat capacity data, the standard entropy at 298.15 K was obtained. From the evaluation of the low temperature heat capacity region the Sommerfeld coefficient and the Debye temperature were derived.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 4","pages":" 563-572"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/mr/d4mr00124a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144524453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhiqiang Wu, Yuan Min, Yongqin Li, Fang Qian, Lin-an Cao, Rong Tan, Enke Feng, Jiya Ding and Pengxi Jiang
{"title":"Preparation of lead dodecyl sulfate nanorod materials mediated by mechanochemistry and green solvent-free catalytic synthesis of heterocyclic derivatives†","authors":"Zhiqiang Wu, Yuan Min, Yongqin Li, Fang Qian, Lin-an Cao, Rong Tan, Enke Feng, Jiya Ding and Pengxi Jiang","doi":"10.1039/D4MR00123K","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4MR00123K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >In this work, the lead dodecyl sulfate material (Pb(DS)<small><sub>2</sub></small>) was successfully synthesized for the first time <em>via</em> a mechanochemical ball milling method. The synthesized material was comprehensively analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that the Pb(DS)<small><sub>2</sub></small> catalyst, synthesized <em>via</em> solvent-free mechanical ball milling, possesses a distinctive solid nanorod morphology. Furthermore, the catalyst efficiently promotes the synthesis of heterocyclic derivatives in a solvent-free environment within 20 minutes, achieving a target product yield of up to 98%. Specifically, it produced bis(indolyl)methane derivatives with yields ranging from 78% to 98%, and quinoxaline derivatives with yields ranging from 87% to 98% within the same timeframe. The Pb(DS)<small><sub>2</sub></small> catalyst also exhibits remarkable catalytic activity in the Biginelli reaction. Notably, the catalyst maintains excellent and stable performance over eight recycling cycles.</p>","PeriodicalId":101140,"journal":{"name":"RSC Mechanochemistry","volume":" 4","pages":" 584-597"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/mr/d4mr00123k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144524490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}