Amphiphile self-assemblies in supercritical CO2 and ionic liquids

Abstract

Supercritical (sc) CO₂ and ionic liquids (ILs) are very attractive green solvents with tunable properties. Using scCO₂ and ILs as alternatives of conventional solvents (water and oil) for forming amphiphile self-assemblies has many advantages. For example, the properties and structures of the amphiphile self-assemblies in these solvents can be easily modulated by tuning the properties of solvents; scCO₂ has excellent solvation power and mass-transfer characteristics; ILs can dissolve both organic and inorganic substances and their properties are designable to satisfy the requirements of various applications. Therefore, the amphiphile self-assemblies in scCO₂ and ILs have attracted considerable attention in recent years. This review describes the advances of using scCO₂ or/and ILs as amphiphile self-assembly media in the last decade. The amphiphile self-assemblies in scCO₂ and ILs are first reviewed, followed by the discussion on combination of scCO₂ and ILs in creating microemulsions or emulsions. Some future directions on the amphiphile self-assemblies in scCO₂ and ILs are highlighted.