Mechanochemically Enhanced Organic Transformations

We provide a brief overview of recent developments in ball milling mechanochemistry to conduct solvent-free or solvent-limited organic transformations. We particularly highlight the areas of organic mechanochemistry that have recently experienced notable advances or revealed important fundamental concepts in mechanochemical reactivity, such as oxidation and halogenation of organic substrates, photochemical and thermochemical cycloaddition reactions, as well as metal-catalyzed transformations, including the Huisgen reaction (“click coupling”), olefin metathesis, and C-H bond activation. We also highlight notable examples of new reaction pathways or molecular structures that have been difficult or even impossible to achieve through conventional techniques, but have now been made available through mechanochemical procedures.