The field of mechanochemistry is reviewed. A large number of mechanochemical reactions are described as well as industrial applications.
CermetsMilling a soft metal with a hard ceramic material leads to the formation of valuable composites with new important properties: the cermets.On milling, the hard ceramic particles becomes imbedded in a metal host matrix. On further milling, the hard particles are micronized and the metal covers the fine ceramic units leading to spherical particles, the cermets [3,35].
Mechanical activation of mineralsMilling certain minerals alters their properties in ways that can be used in industry:1 Silica, alumina and alumino-silicates can be activated to be valuable catalyst, with the incorporation of small amount of metals [1,2].2 Bauxite can be activated by milling, allowing its extraction of Al(OH) 3 by concentrated NaOH solutions at lower temperatures. This allows a purer Al(OH) 3 to be obtained for Al production [1,2].3 Phosphate rock, the main source of P in the fertilizer industry, can be amorphized under high mechanical impact, leading to a material than can be attacked by the plant roots. This new fertilizer, tribophos, is cheaper than those obtained by treating the mineral with sulfuric or phosphoric acid [1,2].4 If instead of using sand and gravel in the concrete industry, the freshly ground rock is mixed with the cement and water, a very hard concrete results, superconcrete, with the cement phase strongly bound to the hard rock and sand phase [1,2].Many more uses of mechanical activation will certainly be developed in the future.