ABSTRACT Joan F. Brennecke University of Notre Dame CTS-9522835 Supercritical (SC) carbon dioxide has been shown to be a viable reaction medium for a wide variety of reactions. For example, it has recently been shown that commercially important processes, such as the asymmetric hydrogen-transfer hydrogenation of prochiral olefins and ketones and the oxidation of cyclohexene to adipic acid, can be run in supercritical carbon dioxide. The benefit of operation in CO2 lies in its potential for replacing hazardous organic solvents (chlorinated solvents, in particular). Being non-toxic, some reaction rates are actually accelerated in SC CO2, there are some examples in which the use of CO2 as the solvent also results in better selectivity for the desired compound, and the tunability of solubilities in supercritical fluids suggests possible energy-saving downstream separation schemes. Thus, chemical reaction and processing in SC CO2 is an attractive alternative to conventional manufacturing techniques.
