U.S. has developed a solvent-free chemical reaction method

A recent study by the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory found that some organic materials can be chemically reacted to produce new compounds without solids. This new discovery is expected to contribute to reducing the use of harmful solvents in chemical and other industries.
The use of organic materials to generate new compounds usually takes place in a solvent environment. This is because organic materials possess stable molecular crystal structures that limit their ability to participate in reactions in the solid state. The liquid solvent can disintegrate the molecular crystal structure of the organic material so that the chemical reaction can take place. However, many chemical reaction solvents have serious damage to human health and the environment, and cannot be recycled. How to deal with them is a difficult problem.
Researchers at Ames Labs have found that the high-energy ball milling technology, which has been widely used in alloy manufacturing and other fields, can make some chemical reactions take place without solvents. Their research shows that the mechanical energy produced by ball milling can change the crystallinity of solid organic materials and eventually combine solid organic materials to form new compounds.
The researchers conducted experiments on some organophosphorus compounds using a ball mill method. The results confirmed that ball milling can cause these compounds to produce a variety of chemical reactions that were previously only possible under solvent conditions. They also found that these reactions are very efficient.
The researchers believe that the production of organic materials without the use of solvents will have an important impact on the development of materials science and chemistry. Their research results will be published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in June.