RSC Mechanochemistry Blog

Advisory board member Lucia Maini and her mechanochemistry students at the University of Bologna have selected their favourite articles from RSC Mechanochemistry. The students’ perspectives on the articles and the field of mechanochemistry will be presented in a series of six blog posts. The second group of students will discuss:

Green mechanochemical fabrication of graphite-lanthanide oxide nanocomposites

In recent years, research into graphite derivatives such as graphene has seen significant developments, as well as novel applications in everyday life. Among the various derivatives that can be obtained, graphite oxide is one of the least known to the public, unlike compounds such as graphene, but this does not make it any less important. On the contrary, uses have been found for these compounds in the field of electronics (as insulators or conductors), in catalysis, in the biomedical sector, and even in the environmental field.

While graphite oxide (and graphene) has many applications, its intercalated counterpart has even more fields of use, given the very high potential of compounds with metals, which, through a synergistic process, generate new compounds with unprecedented properties not found in the non-intercalated oxide alone. This article focuses mainly on intercalates with lanthanide oxides: these, already analysed and studied by the same research group, have been used over the last decade for the manufacture of nanocomposites for supercapacitors, nano-sensors for targeted tumour imaging, detection of bacterial spores, and as catalysts for hydrogen evolution and oxygen reduction. The group focused on improving the efficiency of the synthesis of these compounds, continuing as in the previous study with a mechanochemical approach (ball milling), which is significantly ‘greener’ than traditional methods in solution that require the use of toxic solvents and reagents or could lead to hazardous waste. The research yielded excellent results in terms of synthesis, as numerous analyses showed that compounds with excellent structural properties and characteristics were obtained, such as excellent dispersion of metal nanoparticles on the surface and limited formation of amorphous structures. Broad characterization was obtained from which various properties of the compounds could be derived, such as surface functionalization (which may allow studies in the catalytic field). Given their low toxicity, they could also be used in the biomedical field, certainly not for their antibacterial properties (given their low bactericidal capacity, except for some compounds and dosages) but as biosensors or for drug delivery.

What drew you to study Mechanochemistry initially, and what areas have you found most interesting?
The discovery of mechanochemistry happened by chance: while researching syntheses that led to luminescent compounds, this type of synthesis was encountered. From there, interest in the subject grew, revealing, among other things, how it was possible to obtain compounds that could not be obtained with a more traditional approach (in solution), such as polymorphs of the same chemical compound.

Why did you choose this article, did you find anything surprising?
There is often a particular fascination with more ‘exotic’ chemistry, such as elements and compounds that are rarely covered in academia. In this case, the article focused on the study of lanthanide intercalates in graphite oxide, a type of compound that is not particularly covered in lectures. This prompted a desire to explore the topic further.

Why is this article important, what gap in the literature does this research aim to fill?
This article is important as it contributes to the ongoing study and synthesis of lanthanide intercalates in graphite oxide, originally initiated by the same research group, by improving synthesis techniques and expanding the characterisation of the compounds obtained. It also establishes the foundations for the study of these compounds in the biomedical field.

Consider the real-world applications or implications of this article, what are the strengths and/or limitations of this article that may need to be explored further?
This study presents a mechanochemical, economic and ecological approach to the synthesis of graphite oxide–lanthanide nanocomposites in which no hazardous solvents are used, and no toxic products are formed. Currently, the limitations of the study relate to the lack of data on the electrical properties of the compound, as well as the need for additional toxicity testing using other cell cultures.

Luca Ragno, Wael M. Ragheb, Jawad Sattar and Alfusainey Jallow

Luca Ragno is a student enrolled in the master’s degree programme in Industrial Chemistry at the University of Bologna. He is dedicated to the study of inorganic and organometallic chemistry, with a particular focus on the properties of the solid state.

Wael M. Ragheb is a master’s student in Photochemistry and Molecular Materials at the University of Bologna. Passionate about scientific research, he strives to contribute to the development of renewable energy and advanced materials.

Jawad Sattar is a master’s student enrolled in Photochemistry and Molecular Materials at the University of Bologna. He is passionate about material innovation and processes. His academic journey is driven by a commitment to advancing sustainable technologies.

Alfusainey Jallow is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Photochemistry, driven by a strong passion for sustainable and eco-friendly scientific innovation. During his bachelor’s studies, he developed a keen interest in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, which inspired him to explore environmentally conscious research pathways. As part of his academic journey, he completed an internship project titled “Study of a new Alternative Binder from Waste of the Steel Industry,” where he focused on converting industrial waste into valuable resources. This experience strengthened his commitment to sustainability and continues to motivate his pursuit of advanced studies in photochemical applications for a greener future.

Check out the article, published in RSC Mechanochemistry:

Green mechanochemical fabrication of graphite-lanthanide oxide nanocomposites

Danilo Marchetti, Enrico Dalcanale, Roberta Pinalli, Mauro Gemmi, Alessandro Pedrini and Chiara Massera

Diego A. Acevedo-Guzmán, Brian Monroy-Torres, Petra Rudolf, Vladimir A. Basiuk and Elena V. Basiuk

RSC Mechanochem., 2025, 2, 443-458

Discover all of the selected articles in the RSC Mechanochemistry Students’ Choice collection.

Are you ready to contribute to the future of mechanochemistry? RSC Mechanochemistry offers you an inclusive and dedicated home for the ideas, scientific language and approaches that cut across the many disciplines mechanochemistry touches. Here we are seeking to build knowledge, as well as foster innovation and discovery at this forefront of chemistry. Whether you are seeking to understand the fundamentals of mechanochemistry, or you are excited by its applications and potential, this journal is for you. All of the content in this journal is gold open access, which means that you can read every article for free, and we are covering all publication costs until mid-2026. Find out more about the journal Read our published articles Submit your manuscript today Sign up for email alerts Follow us on social media

Advisory board member Lucia Maini and her mechanochemistry students at the University of Bologna have selected their favourite articles from RSC Mechanochemistry. The students’ perspectives on the articles and the field of mechanochemistry will be presented in a series of six blog posts. The first group of students will discuss:

Fluorination of mechanochemically synthesized metal–organic frameworks for PFAS adsorption in water

The article considers combining the noticeable adsorbing properties of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with fluorine functionalization to address environmental remediation concerns. It explores the possibility of employing fluorine-decorated MOFs, and it compares their properties with the non-fluorinated counterpart, as a novel anti-pollution tool to trap per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) polluted waters, since they lead to severe health issues due to their high toxicity and persistence.

TPP-mCPW(Ph) and TPP-mCPW(p-FPh) MOFs were mechanochemically synthesized, obtaining diamond-like structures that showed optimal stability in aqueous media. The structures have been assessed with PXRD measurements while the outcome of PFAS adsorption has been confirmed through ¹⁹F-NMR. The fluorinated TPP-mCPW(p-FPh) MOF has been demonstrated to have an open pore structure able to rearrange to a closed pore structure upon exposure to heating, solvents and specific guest molecules, while the non-fluorinated counterpart only partially interconverts between the two structures. This feature has been exploited to trap NaPFO molecules in the void channels of the fluorinated MOF, which engages in halogen bonding and F-F interactions that stabilize adsorption of the guest molecule, showing greater efficiency than its TPP-mCPW(Ph) counterpart.

Continuous research on these versatile and tunable MOFs can lead to innovations in many fields, such as gas storage and catalysis. In particular, this research could pave the way to sustainable, fast and effective decontamination motions, guaranteeing little-to-no waste throughout the production of the MOFs and improving water quality, which is one of the major concerns the scientific community is being called to face to date.

What drew you to study Mechanochemistry initially, and what areas have you found most interesting?
Initially mechanochemistry was just an excuse to spend more time together, but after a few lectures we found out how fascinating it is. We think it is a particularly interesting field of chemistry because it is strikingly changing the approach to materials synthesis, thanks to its sustainable and green nature, which are important aspects for future chemists like us.

Why did you choose this article, did you find anything surprising?
The initial reason that draw us to this article is the fact that it combines hot topics of the most recent scientific research, such as MOFs, which recently won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2025, mechanochemical synthetic pathways, and land pollution issues. The biggest surprise in this article is how this article offers a new perspective on PFAS decontamination with a simple, fast and performative solution.

Why is this article important, what gap in the literature does this research aim to fill?
When the pollution subject is discussed, usually, we hear only about CO₂ emissions and greenhouse gas emissions, but the water pollution is a topic that is not as broadly tackled. This article serves to bring more attention to this topic, discussing other aspects, like water pollution, which are as important. The experiments carried out in this research provide a feasible and efficient option for water anti-pollution actions that could restore ecosystems and improve human health, protecting it from this class of contaminants.

Consider the real-world applications or implications of this article, what are the strengths and/or limitations of this article that may need to be explored further?
In the article it is reported that there is a necessity to further investigate the role of fluorine in the sequestration of PFAS in MOFs, and this mechanistic point can be further explored. It could be interesting, in the future, to tailor MOFs that can perform more than one function at the same time, for example providing a combined solution for catalysis and PFAS absorption, or other joint possibilities.

Eya Arfaoui, Mary Goffe and Chiara Pasolini

Discussion of this article was carried out by three students who are currently in the second year of a Master’s Degree in Photochemistry and Molecular Materials at the University of Bologna. Their names are Eya Arfaoui, Mary Goffe and Chiara Pasolini. Not only are they a trio in this work, but also in life, they support each other through their academic and personal lives. Eya was born in Trento, she has Tunisian origins, and she is a big fan of organic and physical chemistry, novels and chit-chats in front of a hot cup of tea. She graduated in October 2024 in Industrial Chemistry. Mary was born in Bologna, she has Ethiopian origins, and she is interested in computational photochemistry, yoga and international relations. She graduated in Industrial Chemistry in July 2024. Chiara was born in Brescia, she has a deep but tormented love for electrochemistry and in day-to-day life she splits herself between chemistry, yoga, books and beers with friends.

Check out the article, published in RSC Mechanochemistry:

Fluorination of mechanochemically synthesized metal–organic frameworks for PFAS adsorption in water 

Danilo Marchetti, Enrico Dalcanale, Roberta Pinalli, Mauro Gemmi, Alessandro Pedrini and Chiara Massera

RSC Mechanochem., 2025, 2, 662-669

Discover all of the selected articles in the RSC Mechanochemistry Students’ Choice collection.

Are you ready to contribute to the future of mechanochemistry? RSC Mechanochemistry offers you an inclusive and dedicated home for the ideas, scientific language and approaches that cut across the many disciplines mechanochemistry touches. Here we are seeking to build knowledge, as well as foster innovation and discovery at this forefront of chemistry. Whether you are seeking to understand the fundamentals of mechanochemistry, or you are excited by its applications and potential, this journal is for you. All of the content in this journal is gold open access, which means that you can read every article for free, and we are covering all publication costs until mid-2026. Find out more about the journal Read our published articles Submit your manuscript today Sign up for email alerts Follow us on social media

Mechanochemistry is an emerging area of chemistry that still presents many open questions. Although the use of mechanical force—such as grinding—to transform matter has been known since ancient times, its scientific foundations remain surprisingly underdeveloped. Despite a growing number of successful examples, enabling more sustainable syntheses or reactions that are not possible in solution, the field still lacks a clear and unified theoretical framework. This coexistence of practical success and conceptual openness suggests that the future development of mechanochemistry will depend not only on new experimental results, but also on fresh perspectives capable of rationalising, describing, and modelling mechanochemical reactivity.

Driven by my deep involvement in this field and by the increasing potential of mechanochemistry, I initiated a Mechanochemistry course at the University of Bologna with the aim of exposing students to this discipline early in their training. However, the absence of well-established fundamentals makes traditional teaching approaches inadequate. To convey both the state of the art and the wide range of applications, students were asked to critically read and discuss several recent research articles, focusing on experimental choices, underlying assumptions, and limitations, and to formulate questions that were then addressed directly to the authors. In doing so, students are introduced not only to mechanochemistry itself, but also to academic publishing as a living process, where scientific knowledge is constructed, debated, and refined through the literature.

This direct interaction with the authors provides students with a more immediate and informal connection to ongoing research, allowing them to grasp the everyday challenges encountered in the laboratory and the reasoning behind experimental decisions. Such an approach helps students navigate a rapidly evolving field while fostering a view of science as an active and collaborative process—one in which today’s students are tomorrow’s contributors.

After being exposed to mechanochemistry across different application areas, students were invited to select research articles from RSC Mechanochemistry based on their own curiosity and scientific interests. The following blog posts present their choices and perspectives, offering a student-driven view of the field. This series aims to build a bridge between education and academic publishing, highlighting how the next generation of researchers engages with mechanochemistry and why their voices are relevant to its future development.

Discover the selected articles in the RSC Mechanochemistry Students’ Choice collection.

2026 Mechanochemistry course students at the University of Bologna. First row: Prof. Dario Braga and Prof. Lucia Maini.

Lucia Maini is a Full Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bologna. Her research interests focus on polymorphism, crystal engineering, and molecular materials, with mechanochemistry representing a central methodological and conceptual pillar of her work. Beyond its role as a preferred synthetic approach in her research, mechanochemistry also connects her scientific interests with broader perspectives on the discipline. She has explored its historical roots in the history of chemistry, including contributions such as “What makes every work perfect is cooking and grinding”: the ancient roots of mechanochemistry” published in RSC Mechanochemistry (10.1039/D3MR00035D). Alongside her research activity, she is deeply involved in teaching, with a strong interest in innovative educational methodologies. She has developed a Master’s-level course on mechanochemistry based on research-based learning, where students engage directly with contemporary literature and researchers. Her work reflects a commitment to integrating research, education, and historical perspective within modern chemical science.

Submit to RSC Mechanochemistry today! We welcome you to submit your latest research in mechanochemistry to our journal! All content in this journal is gold open access and we are covering all publication costs until mid-2026. Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

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