First example of “click” copper(i) catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition in supercritical carbon dioxide: application to the functionalization of aliphatic polyesters

Abstract

The modification of aliphatic polyesters by the copper(I) catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) was successfully implemented in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). Due to the remarkable properties of scCO2, the CuAAC reaction turned out to be quantitative even though the aliphatic polyesters used in this work were insoluble in scCO2 Interestingly enough, the conditions were mild enough to prevent polymer degradation from occurring and finally, efficient removal of the catalyst (>96%) was achieved by scCO2extraction.