Mechanochemical Carbonization of Phloroglucinol for Structurally Controlled Soluble Carbon Material via Accelerated Furan Cyclization

Mechanochemical organic synthesis have recently attracted attention as a novel approach for the synthesis of nanocarbon materials. In this study, we report on the mechanochemical carbonization of phloroglucinol (PG) with accelerated furan cyclization to achieve structural control of soluble carbon materials (SCM). By employing a mixer mill with external heating and optimizing the addition of water as an additive, we successfully promoted the formation of furan ring structures within the carbon framework. Raman spectroscopy revealed that the combination of mechanical energy, heating, and water addition is essential for the selective formation of furan rings, leading to SCM with high solubility and well-defined functional groups. This method eliminates the need for a separate pyrolysis step and enables the direct synthesis of structurally controlled SCM. The resulting materials are expected to serve as promising candidates for applications such as metal ion ligands and adsorbents. Our findings provide new insights into the bottom-up design of functional carbon materials via mechanochemical processes.