Substituting steel for a polymer in a jar for ball milling does matter

Usually, in situ diffraction studies of mechanochemical transformations use plastic milling jars in place of steel. This is done to reduce the absorption of radiation by the walls. Using the polymorphic transformation of β-glycine as an example, we show that the transformation rate can vary significantly depending on the material of the jars. Using ex situ analysis we here compare the transformation rates using steel and common plastics such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polylactic acid, and polyethylene terephthalate glycol. We show that the rate of a mechanochemical transformation can vary significantly depending on the material of the jars (steel, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polylactic acid, or polyethylene terephthalate glycol), other conditions being the same.