idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Nachrichten, Termine, Experten

Grafik: idw-Logo
Science Video Project
idw-Abo

idw-News App:

AppStore

Google Play Store



Instanz:
Teilen: 
25.05.2018 13:13

If solubilty is the problem - Mechanochemistry is the solution

Kim-Astrid Magister Pressestelle
Technische Universität Dresden

    Chemists from TU Dresden synthesize supersized nanographenes with ball milling

    Chemist Dr. Lars Borchardt and his team at TU Dresden recently achieved a huge breakthrough in the synthesis of nanographenes. Because of their unique electrical, thermal and mechanical characteristics, the carbon modification graphene and its little brothers the nanographenes are known as a very promising material for applications in electronics, sensor technology and energy storage. However, since the synthesis of nanographenes and graphene nanoribbons is still rather expensive and environmentally unsustainable, there are only few industrial applications. Dr. Borchardt’s innovative method of a mechanochemical synthesis of nanographenes has certainly paved the way for a safer, simpler and more sustainable route for the synthesis of alternative electronic and solar energy materials.

    Ball mills instead of solvents – this is the starting point of the research of Dr. Lars Borchardt and his junior research group „Mechanocarb“ at the Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry at TU Dresden since 2015. The group is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Reserach (BMBF) and is a project of the funding initiative
    „Materialforschung für die Energiewende“. Their joint aim is to establish mechanochemistry as a resource-, energy- and time-efficient synthesis method towards carbon-based electrode materials. PhD student Sven Grätz recently succeeded once more in proving that they are on the right track: the results of his dissertation on the mechanochemical Scholl reaction were published in the renowned online journal Chemical Communications.

    It may seem paradoxal to imagine that the destructive forces of a ball mill can help creating complex molecules. However, Borchardt and his team have done just that. Highly aromatic molecular systems (highly aromatic in chemistry means systems with a high number of conjugated bonds that are very stable) such as nanographenes are known for their poor solubility. Therefore, they are difficult to synthesize in traditional chemical methods, which require a solvent. The Borchardt group exclusively works with the intense mechanical forces of ball mills. The huge forces in the mills initiate a chemical reaction in which a hexaphenylbenzene precursor is converted into a completly aromatic system. Not only does this method represent a much simpler, safer and more sustainable alternative to conventional chemical syntheses, it also opens up new ways: „We can also broaden the feasibility of this famous reaction towards molecules that are insoluble, “ explains Borchardt.

    The TUD scientists managed to synthesize the triangular shaped C60 as well as C222 benchmark nanographenes within very short time and with comparably little effort. Now they continue their mechanochemical research with the aim of producing even larger molecules such as graphene nanoribbons which are adaptable for application. The recent findings of the Borchardt group will certainly contribute new aspects to the search for new electronic and solar energy material and also to resolving some of the hindrances of chemical synthesis by eliminating solvents.

    Original publication:
    S Grätz et al, Chem. Commun., 2018, DOI: 10.1039/c8cc01993b (This article is free to access until 12 June 2018.)

    Media inquiries:
    Dr. Lars Borchardt
    Tel.: 0351 46334960
    E-Mail: lars.borchardt@tu-dresden.de


    Weitere Informationen:

    http://www.borchardt-group.com


    Bilder

    Mechanical energy provided by the collision of milling ball in planetary ball mills allows to synthesize nanographene structures under environmentally friendly and solvent-free reaction conditions.
    Mechanical energy provided by the collision of milling ball in planetary ball mills allows to synthe ...
    Sven Grätz
    None


    Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
    Journalisten, Wissenschaftler
    Chemie
    überregional
    Forschungsergebnisse, Wissenschaftliche Publikationen
    Englisch


     

    Mechanical energy provided by the collision of milling ball in planetary ball mills allows to synthesize nanographene structures under environmentally friendly and solvent-free reaction conditions.


    Zum Download

    x

    Hilfe

    Die Suche / Erweiterte Suche im idw-Archiv
    Verknüpfungen

    Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.

    Klammern

    Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).

    Wortgruppen

    Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.

    Auswahlkriterien

    Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).

    Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).