2025 MBLA Winner: Koji Kubota

In recent years, ball milling techniques have gained considerable attention in organic synthesis as ecofriendly and sustainable alternatives to traditional solution-based methods. Beyond their environmental advantages, mechanochemical protocols offer access to previously unexplored regions of chemical space that are often inaccessible through conventional approaches. In this context, our research focuses on the design and development of novel organic transformations driven by mechanical forces within a ball mill. In this lecture, I will present our latest findings on novel synthetic concepts and strategies that leverage the unique reaction environment of mechanochemistry, going beyond simply adapting known solution phase reactions to solid state conditions.[1-12]

Reference
[1]   Kondo, K.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Nature Synth. 2025, 4, 744.
[2]   Kubota, K.; Jiang, J.; Kamakura, Y.; Hisazumi, R.; Endo, T.; Miura, D.; Kubo, S.; Maeda, S.; Ito, H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 1062.
[3]   Seo, T.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 6823.
[4]   Seo, T.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202311531.
[5]   Gao, Y.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202217723.
[6]   Gao, P.; Jiang, J.; Maeda, S.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202207118.
[7]   Takahashi, R.; Hu, A.; Gao, P.; Gao, Y.; Pang, Y.; Seo, T.; Maeda, S.; Jiang, J.; Takaya, H.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Nature Commun. 2021, 12, 6691.
[8]   Seo, T.; Toyoshima, N; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 6165.
[9]   Kubota, K.; Toyoshima, N.; Miura, D.; Jiang, J.; Maeda, S.; Jin, M.*; Ito, H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 16003.
[10]  Seo, T.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 9884
[11]   Kubota, K.; Pang, Y.; Miura, A.; Ito, H. Science 2019, 366, 1500.
[12]   Kubota, K.; Seo, T.; Koide, K.; Hasegawa, Y.; Ito, H. Nature Commun. 2019, 10, 111.