NSF Center for the Mechanical Control of Chemistry

美国国家科学基金会化学机械控制中心（CMCC）是一个综合性的研究和培训环境，它将化学家、物理学家和工程师聚集在一起，围绕建立对机械化学的基本理解的共同目标-使用机械力来驱动化学反应。机械化学为化学合成提供了一种强大而通用的手段，为传统合成方法无法制造的新反应和新材料打开了大门。虽然光、热和电荷驱动化学反应的作用已经被很好地理解了，但利用机械力作为控制合成元素的方法还远远不够发达。为了揭示机械化学的全部潜力，CMCC旨在弥合化学和力学领域之间的关键知识差距，这些知识差距限制了机械化学作为核心合成方法的广泛应用。由于机械化学反应通常可以在很少或没有溶剂的情况下进行，并且在比传统合成方法更低的温度下进行，因此将CMCC中的知识从分子尺度的理解转化为大规模合成，具有全球重大技术和经济效益的潜力，为化学品和材料的合成提供了更可持续的方法。CMCC是学术、工业和国家实验室合作伙伴之间的协调努力，他们正在寻求推进基础科学，这将推动机械化学领域的应用。通过综合工具集计划（ITP）的发展，CMCC将推进实验和计算工具，建立关键反应参数和施加力/应力之间的基本关系。本研究旨在开发新的化学反应和模型，以预测反应速率、产物收率和选择性的机械化学合成。这些新工具将被应用于推进我们对化学系统的机械化学过程的理解，从基本的有机和有机金属反应（推力1）到固态材料，例如层状镧系元素、钙钛矿和金属卤化物（推力2）。力与光、热和电荷的协同活化机制的相互作用有望扩大对这种强大的化学合成方法的理解。CMCC与工业伙伴合作，寻求将这种对力依赖选择性和反应性的新理解转化为新的反应堆设计，并为扩大规模提供综合力控制。CMCC成员开展的协同研究有可能为化学和制药行业带来颠覆性技术。为了支持这一巨大变化，CMCC将招募和培养一支多样化的机械化学队伍。CMCC学员将沉浸在一个包容性和跨学科的环境中，受益于新的课程发展，接触创新和工业合作，并通过广泛的非正式科学传播努力参与，旨在与K-12和公众观众建立联系。这将使CMCC成为机械化学领域首屈一指的全球中心。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The NSF Center for the Mechanical Control of Chemistry (CMCC) is an integrative research and training environment that brings together chemists, physicists, and engineers around the common goal of establishing a fundamental understanding of mechanochemistry – the use of mechanical force to drive chemical reactions. Mechanochemistry offers a powerful and versatile means for chemical synthesis, opening the door to new reactions and new materials that cannot be made using traditional synthetic methods. While the effects of light, heat, and electric charge for driving chemical reactions are well understood, the use of mechanical force as a controlling synthetic element is far less developed. To unveil the full potential of mechanochemistry, the CMCC aims to bridge key knowledge gaps between the fields of chemistry and mechanics which have limited the broad application of mechanochemistry as a core synthetic methodology. As mechanochemical reactions can often be carried out with little or no solvent, and at lower temperatures than traditional synthetic approaches, the translation of knowledge in the CMCC from molecular-scale understanding, to large scale syntheses, has the potential for major technological and economic benefits globally, affording more sustainable approaches to the synthesis of chemicals and materials.The CMCC is a coordinated effort among academic, industrial, and national lab partners who are seeking to advance fundamental science which will drive applications in the field of mechanochemistry. Through the development of an Integrated Toolset Program (ITP), the CMCC will advance both experimental and computational tools, establishing fundamental relationships between key reaction parameters and applied forces/stresses. This research aims to develop new chemical reactions and models for predictable mechanochemical syntheses in terms of reaction rates, product yields, and selectivity. These new tools will be applied to advance our understanding of mechanochemical processes for chemical systems ranging from fundamental organic and organometallic reactions (Thrust 1) to solid-state materials, e.g. layered lanthanides, perovskites and metal halides (Thrust 2). The interplay of synergistic activation mechanisms of force with light, heat, and charge is expected to expand understanding of this powerful approach to chemical synthesis. Working with industrial partners, the CMCC seeks to translate this new understanding of force-dependent selectivity and reactivity into new reactor designs, with integrated force control for scale-up. Synergistic research carried out by members of the CMCC has the potential to yield disruptive technologies for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. To support this sea change, the CMCC will recruit and educate a diverse mechanochemistry workforce. CMCC trainees will be immersed in an inclusive and interdisciplinary environment, benefitting from new curricular developments, exposure to innovation and industrial collaborations, and engagement through extensive informal science communication efforts designed to connect with K-12 and public audiences. This will establish the CMCC as a premier global hub for mechanochemistry.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.