WG1 will bring together experts in mechanosynthesis with the aim to design mechanochemical protocols that can offer advantages over existing solution-based methods to advance capability in this area. Furthermore, WG1 will work side by side with the other WGs in order to discover and study new types of reactivity (with WG2) and to identify suitable reactions for scaling-up (with WG3). Additionally, the direct involvement of engineers at this early stage will allow the conception of processes working at lab scale that can be realistically scaled up.

Objectives

The objectives of the WG1 will include: (i) the identification of specific mechanochemical reactions (condensations, multicomponent, cascade, domino, organo- or metal-catalysed, etc.) that allow synthesising specialty products avoiding common problems arising in conventional solution routes, (ii) Designing the strategy to evaluate the reproducibility of specific mechanochemical reactions; (iii) Evaluate the effect of liquid-assisted grinding on controlling chemical reactivity and selectivity, (iv) Discovery of organic molecules and new compounds (CP, co-crystals, catalysts, MOFs) accessible only under mechanochemical conditions, studying their unique reactivity together with the WG2.

Milestones

(M1) Identification of different reactions leading to compounds of industrial interest such as generic APIs, catalysts, CP and MOF for energy storage and pharmaceutical co-crystals to be investigated for the scale up process (in collaboration with WG3); (M2) Identify one or two benchmark reactions to understand the mechanistic aspects underlying the reactive event and the role of liquid assisted grinding in mechanochemical reactions (in collaboration with WG2); (M3) Identification of technical parameters allowing to optimize the reactions.

Deliverables

(i) Technical report on different reactions, which can be tested for scale up processess, including Guidelines, Good Practice and practical skills for mechanochemistry; (ii) Technical report on the achieved objectives will be presented to the annual meeting; (iii) Publication in leading scientific journals and open access journals.