Developments in CO2 research*
Jacqueline A. Behles and Joseph M. DeSimone
Department of Chemistry, CB# 3290, Venable and Kenan
Laboratories, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill,
NC 27599-3290, USA
Abstract: CO2 can be a good solvent for many compounds
when used in its compressed liquid or supercritical fluid state. Above
its critical temperature and critical pressure (Tc = 31 C, Pc = 73.8
bar), CO2 has liquid-like densities and gas-like viscosities,
which allows for safe commercial and laboratory operating conditions.
Many small molecules are readily soluble in CO2, whereas
most macromolecules are not. This has prompted development of several
classes of small molecule and polymeric surfactants that enable emulsion
and dispersion polymerizations as well as other technological processes.
*Lecture presented at the IUPAC CHEMRAWN
XIV Conference on Green Chemistry:Toward Environmentally Benign Processes
and Products, Boulder,Colorado, USA, 9-13 June 2001. Other presentations
are published in this issue, pp.1229 1330.