ABSTRACT
The development of more efficient and economical chemical transformation processes remains an important challenge. Organic synthesis reactions in the polymer, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries are increasingly required to be highly selective, economical, and environmentally benign. As one means of developing such processes, the use of supercritical fluids (SCFs) as reaction solvents has been the subject of increasing investigation over the last two decades because of the host of potential advantages afforded by these media over conventional liquid solvents and gaseous diluents. Specific applications in the materials area include polymer synthesis as well as the synthesis of monomers and key intermediates. This chapter focuses on the “smallmolecule” end of this scale and includes a comprehensive survey of the major organic reaction classes currently under investigation in SCF media.
