Mechanochemical Synthesis and Endohedral Fullerene Chemistry
This community develops solvent-free mechanical methods for organic synthesis and constructs carbon cage structures that enclose metal atoms. The work focuses on using physical force to drive chemical reactions and on the specific chemistry occurring inside and around fullerene cages.
The research centers on mechanochemical activation, specifically ball milling and resonant acoustic mixing, to perform cross-coupling reactions such as Suzuki-Miyaura and Sonogashira couplings without solvents. A parallel strand involves the synthesis and functionalization of endohedral metallofullerenes, where metal atoms are trapped inside carbon cages. The community also investigates carbon nanobelts and hydrocarbon hoops, as well as the use of piezoelectric materials to induce redox reactions. These methods are applied to create organic and inorganic materials, including polymers and metal oxide nanoparticles, often with an emphasis on green chemistry metrics and sustainable synthesis protocols.
The largest share of the community's output is found in carbon research, accounting for 0.1% of all carbon research and 1,255 papers within this group. It also appears in hydrogen, nitrogen, and palladium research, though with smaller shares.
The community comprises 3,490 papers, published most frequently in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, and Chemical Communications.
Recent work continues to focus on standardizing mechanochemical protocols for organic and inorganic materials, developing liquid-assisted grinding for sustainable synthesis, and exploring constrained carbon bonding inside fullerene cages.