Environmental Mechanochemistry: From Force-Induced Reactivity to Aqueous Reaction Platforms

Abstract

Mechanochemistry is increasingly used in environmental research, but is still commonly treated as a material synthesis or pretreatment step rather than a mode of driving reactions that directly affects pathways relevant to pollution control and resource recovery. This Perspective argues that its environmental significance is most evident when force not only changes material properties before use, but also alters how reactions proceed during operation. We compare how force becomes chemically effective in inorganic and organic systems and classify environmental applications according to its primary role. Using zerovalent iron (ZVI) as a representative example, we show that mechanochemistry can simultaneously alleviate multiple bottlenecks in ZVI preparation, storage, and application. Earlier studies have shown that force can regulate ZVI lattice structure, surface state, and interfacial charge transfer. The wet-milling mechanochemical reactor (MCR) extends these effects into aqueous operation by applying force during rather than before reaction. This intensifies solid–liquid contact, accelerates heterogeneous kinetics, and, in some systems, shifts target transformation from surface-confined pathways toward subsurface redistribution and lattice-associated capture. Future advances should identify systems in which force can strengthen reactions sufficiently to open pathways that conventional treatment processes do not readily access.