A solvent-free mechanochemical synthesis of polyaromatic hydrocarbon derivatives.

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons are central molecules in the future of nanotechnology. However, the synthesis of these molecules is limited by their lack of solubility in solvents, especially green solvents, their ease of oxidation in solution and use of harmful reagents. Solvent-free mechanochemistry has been shown to have excellent potential for these types of molecules and should provide a much more environmentally benign approach for the synthesis of this very important class of molecules. This report details the use of mechanochemistry on an iterative strategy for the synthesis of polyaromatic hydrocarbon derivatives.