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Aaron M Scurto

Publications and source records attributed to Aaron M Scurto.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Expanding the useful range of ionic liquids: melting point depression of organic salts with carbon dioxide for biphasic catalytic reactions.

Large and previously unreported melting point depressions (even exceeding DeltaTm of 100 degrees C) were observed for simple ammonium and phosphonium salts in the presence of compressed CO2, bringing them well within the range of typical ionic liquids; possible applications include biphasic catalysis in IL/scCO2 systems as demonstrated for rhodium complex catalyzed hydrogenation, hydroformylation, and hydroboration of 2-vinyl-naphthalene using a CO2-induced molten sample of [NBu4][BF4] as a catalyst phase at temperatures in the range of 55-75 degrees C, i.e. 100 degrees C below the normal melting point of the organic salt.

Carbon Dioxide↗

CO(2) as a separation switch for ionic liquid/organic mixtures.

A novel technique to separate ionic liquids from organic compounds is introduced which uses carbon dioxide to induce the formation of an ionic liquid-rich phase and an organic-rich liquid phase in mixtures of methanol and 3-butyl-1-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C4mim][PF6]). If the temperature is above the critical temperature of CO2 then the methanol-rich phase can become completely miscible with the CO2-rich phase, and this new phase is completely ionic liquid-free. Since CO2 is nonpolar, it is not equipped to solvate ions. As the CO2 dissolves in the methanol/[C4mim][PF6] mixture, the solvent power of the CO2-expanded liquid is significantly reduced, inducing the formation of the second liquid phase that is rich in ionic liquid. This presents a new way to recover products from ionic liquid mixtures and purify organic phases that have been contaminated with ionic liquid. Moreover, these results have important implications for reactions done in CO2/ionic liquid biphasic mixtures.

Journal Article↗