First example of “click” copper(i) catalyzed azide-alkynecycloaddition 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.