The historical development of mechanochemistry

This paper reviews the history of mechanochemistry. It begins with prehistoric times, when reactions could be initiated during grinding and rubbing accidentally, and follows the main developments until recent results and current trends. There are very few records on mechanochemistry until the first systematic investigations by Spring and Lea at the end of the 19th century. For the next decades, mechanochemistry developed slowly; minerals, inorganic compounds, and polymers were the main subjects of investigation. The area became more organized in the 1960s, when several large groups were established and the first dedicated conferences were held. Mechanical alloying was invented in 1966 independently and it…