Electrochemical investigations in supercritical carbon dioxide

Abstract

It has been shown that hydrophobic electrolytes can be dissolved in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) to give conducting media. The conductivity is comparable with that of similar electrolytes in cyclohexane under ambient conditions. The solubility of the electrolyte in supercritical media is related to the density of the medium. Electron-transfer processes are demonstrated for the first time in both cyclohexane and unmodified scCO₂ at a macroscopic electrode.