IUPAC states that mechanochemistry (using mechanical force to drive chemical reactions) is one of ten innovations that will transform the world. To introduce young learners to this exciting and diverse field of work, the NSF Center for the Mechanical Control of Chemistry (CMCC) developed Smash Chemistry, a mechanochemistry-themed Youth Adventure Program (YAP).
This program is a series of one-week courses designed to encourage career exploration in fields of interest to gifted and talented students. In the Smash Chemistry module, high school students aged 15-18 are exposed to the exciting field of mechanochemistry through demonstrations, lectures, and hands-on activities promoting active learning including the following: (1) the synthesis and testing of mechanochromophore films to demonstrate the effects of strain on the optical properties of materials; (2) a particle shakedown challenge introducing students to the role of surface area in mechanochemical reactivity; (3) the solvent-free synthesis of the drug tolbutamide as an example of medicinal mechanochemistry; (4) a hammer driven solid state synthesis challenge designed to help students develop experimental design and critical thinking skills; (5) a demonstration with a fluorescent non-Newtonian fluid allowing students to visualize the shear and compressive forces in ball mills; (6) the synthesis and fracture of triboluminescent crystals; and (7) a hands-on nanolithography activity with an atomic force microscope (AFM) to demonstrate the use of force to form bonds at the nanoscale.
The inaugural SMASH chemistry YAP was successfully held at Texas A&M with five students at the end of July 2022, and will be held again this July 2023.
Figure 1. Synthesis of Mechanochromophore Films
Figure 2. Particle Shakedown Challenge
Figure 3. Solvent-free Tolbutamide Synthesis
Figure 4. Hammer-driven Solid State Synthesis Challenge
Figure 5. Ball Milling with a Fluorescent Non-Newtonian Fluid
Figure 6. Synthesis and Fracture of Triboluminescent Crystals
Figure 7. Nanolithography with an Atomic Force Microscope
Supported by the Division of Chemistry of the National Science Foundation under grants: 