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 absorbtion of radiation by the walls. Using as an example the polymorphic transformation of β-glycine, 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 in steel and common plastics such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polylactic acid, and polyethylene terephthalate glycol.