In situ formation of alkylcarbonic acids with CO2

The mutual solubility of carbon dioxide and alcohols over a wide range of temperature and pressure provides a useful and tunable medium for reactions and separations. For many years, researchers have used alcohols as cosolvents in supercritical CO2, and recently CO2-swollen alcohols have been used for antisolvent crystallization and as mobile phases for chromatography. However, little consideration has been given to chemical interaction between the alcohols and CO2. We have confirmed that such an interaction does exist and can create an acidic environment. By isolating reaction products we have demonstrated that alcohol-CO2 complexes react similarly to carboxylic acids with diazodiphenylmethane, a compound typically used to evaluate acid strengths. Our evidence indicates that the behavior of CO2-alcohol systems is comparable to that of CO2-water systems, where carbonic acid is formed.