Rapid and facile solvent-free mechanosynthesis in a cell lysis mill: preparation and mechanochemical complexation of aminobenzoquinones

A cell lysis mill, typically used for the breakdown of biological structures in microbiological and biochemical studies, was used as a tool for rapid, solvent-free and general synthesis of short-and long-chain substituted zwitterionic meta-and para-aminobenzoquinones, never previously prepared under solvent-free conditions. Rapid agitation and self-heating in the lysis mill enabled thermally-demanding reactions without external solvent, providing yields comparable to those obtained by conventional solution chemistry, ball milling and melt chemistry. The lysis mill is also suitable for coordination-based reactions, demonstrated by the mechanosynthesis of a mononuclear Ni(II) meta-benzoquinonemonoimine complex.