Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Reliable Mechanochemistry: Protocols for Reproducible Outcomes of Neat and Liquid Assisted Ball-mill Grinding Experiments
Published on: January 23, 2018
Mechanochemical decomposition of pentachlorophenol by ball milling
Yinglei Wei1, Jianhua Yan, Shengyong Lu
1State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
Abstract:
The mechanochemical dechlorination of pentachlorophenol (PCP) was studied using CaO and SiO2 powder as additives. The effects of the milling time and additives on the dechlorination rate were investigated. The resulting product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and ion chromatography (IC). It is found that grinding operation could dechlorinate PCP, with the formation of inorganic chloride and amorphous carbon. The addition of quartz to the grinding mixture facilitated dechlorination. On the basis of the experimental results, the decomposition mechanism was proposed. Decomposition predominantly proceeds through rupture of C-Cl bond in PCP molecule, followed by the formation of inorganic chlorides.
Related Concept Videos
Hydrolysis of Chlorobenzene to Phenol: Dow Process
Microbial Bioremediation of Pesticides
Benzene to Phenol via Cumene: Hock Process
Mass Spectrometry: Molecular Fragmentation Overview
One type of fragmentation pattern is the cleavage of a single bond in the molecular ion. The cleavage leads to a radical and a cation. The cleavage can occur at...
Oxidation of Phenols to Quinones
o-hydroxy phenols are oxidized to o-quinones and p-hydroxy phenols to p-quinones. Such redox reactions involve the transfer of two electrons and two protons. The reversible redox property is crucial in...
Radical Formation: Elimination

