IRES: Enabling Next-Generation Sustainable Chemistry by Mechanochemical Syntheses

About This Grant

Mechanochemistry, the use of mechanical force to drive chemical reactions, was named in 2019 by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) as one of the top ten technologies that would change the world, as it permits cleaner, safer, and more efficient approaches to chemical synthesis and manufacturing. While many advances have been made towards understanding mechanochemical processes at the fundamental level over the past decade, a key challenge that remains is how to scale-up these approaches to afford reliable manufacturing at the industrial scale. This IRES project builds upon a collaboration between Texas A&M University (TAMU), leveraging its leadership position as the home of the NSF Center for the Mechanical Control of Chemistry (CMCC), with the University of Birmingham (UoB) in the UK, home to the newly completed resonant acoustic mixing (RAM) facility, to advance approaches for industrial scale manufacturing using mechanochemistry. This IRES project supports student researchers from the U.S. to gain hands-on experience in both mechanochemical synthesis and chemical manufacturing, by connecting the fundamental understanding of mechanochemical processes, with the opportunities for process design and scale-up, to support the translation of fundamental work into industrial practice. With the goal of developing next-generation, scalable approaches for mechanochemical syntheses, work being addressed through this IRES project includes several research themes: (i) advancing approaches for scale-up of mechanochemical syntheses; (ii) expanding the methods of solvent-free synthesis; (iii) designing computational approaches for understanding the fundamentals of mechanochemistry; and (iv) developing methods for real-time reaction monitoring. These projects leverage the unique resources and expertise available at UoB for scale-up and real-time reaction monitoring and create new opportunities for partnership and collaboration between the CMCC and UoB for the education and training of students in mechanochemistry. Through this collaboration, this IRES project fosters new directions for the scale-up of mechanochemical reactions, and initiates a global network aimed at advancing the application of mechanochemistry as a sustainable approach for chemical synthesis. In addition to the above-described research training that students receive, their experience is also enriched by a range of integrated professional development activities, including a weekly seminar series that includes presentations specific to learning about mechanochemistry, along with associated training (e.g. scientific writing, giving research presentations, and science communications). As such, this IRES project supports a high-quality international research experience for U.S students to conduct work in a unique global facility, while also garnering interdisciplinary education and training, that supports workforce development for the next generation of chemists in advanced chemical manufacturing. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.