Beckman Lecture

This talk will discuss the development of the mechanophore concept which grew out of the hypothesis that certain molecules selectively undergo force-induced covalent bond transformations. I will discuss the mechanisms of mechanical activation; these include force-modified potential energy surfaces and force-imparted chemical dynamics. Evidence for flyby reaction trajectories will be discussed which reflects the biased time course of a force-generated reactive intermediate leading to product distributions that depart from those predicted from the force-modified potential energy surface alone. New examples of mechanophores will be presented along with their use for the development of mechanoresponsive materials.