Mechanically Driven Redox Catalysis: From Metal‐Catalyzed Coupling to Piezoelectric and Cooperative Systems

ABSTRACT

Mechanochemistry has evolved beyond its traditional role as a sustainable alternative to solution‐phase synthesis and is now recognized as a distinctive catalytic platform in which mechanical force can regulate bond activation, redox processes, catalyst speciation, and reaction selectivity. Foundational progress in this area was established through transition‐metal‐catalyzed mechanochemical cross‐coupling reactions. More recently, the field has expanded to encompass piezoelectric‐material‐mediated mechanoredox chemistry, in which piezoelectric materials function not merely as grinding auxiliaries but as genuine catalytic components capable of converting mechanical energy into chemically accessible redox potentials. The convergence of these two directions has further enabled metal/piezoelectric synergistic catalytic systems, opening new opportunities for activating inert substrates, accessing unconventional redox pathways, and modulating catalytic selectivity in ways that are difficult to achieve under conventional solution‐phase conditions. This review summarizes recent advances in mechanically driven redox catalysis, with particular emphasis on its conceptual evolution from mechanochemical cross‐coupling to piezocatalysis and, more recently, to metal/piezoelectric synergistic catalysis. By integrating these developments within a unified framework, this review aims to clarify the mechanistic logic of this rapidly developing field and to highlight the challenges and opportunities that will shape its future development.