Polymerizations in Dense Carbon Dioxide

The scientific community has begun to realize that carbon dioxide represents an attractive continuous phase for many applications, especially as it is naturally occurring and readily available. Carbon dioxide can be harvested from abundant natural reservoirs, and recycled CO2 can be recovered from the waste streams of power plants and industrial plants that produce ammonia, ethanol, hydrogen, and ethylene oxide [7]. In addition. 

Polymerization reactions are typically carried out in our laboratory according to the general procedure outlined below. 

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Davidson TA, DeSimone JM. Polymerizations in dense carbon dioxide. In Jessop PG, Leitner W, eds. Chemical S5mthesis Using Supercritical Fluids. Weinheim, Germany Wiley-VCH, 1999 297-325. 

Polymerizations in Dense Carbon Dioxide 317 4.S.3.2 Cationic Chain Growth... 

Dense carbon dioxide represents an excellent alternative reaction medium for a variety of polymerization processes. Numerous studies have confirmed that CO2 is a potential solvent for many chain growth polymerization methods, including free-radical, cationic, and ring-opening metathesis polymerizations. Carbon dioxide has also been demonstrated to be an effective solvent for step-growth polymerization techniques. Advances in the design and synthesis of surfactants for use in CO2 will allow compressed CO2 to be utilized for a wide variety of polymerization systems. These advances may enable carbon dioxide to replace hazardous VOCs and CFCs in many industrial applications, making CO2 an enviromentally responsible solvent of choice for the polymer industry. 

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