Enhancement of Poly(vinyl ester) Solubility in Supercritical CO2by Partial Fluorination: The Key Role of Polymer–Polymer Interactions

Abstract

An enhancement of poly(vinyl ester) solubility in supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) can be achieved by decreasing the strength of the polymer−polymer interactions. To demonstrate this, a library of statistical copolymers of vinyl acetate and vinyl trifluoroacetate was synthesized by RAFT/MADIX polymerization with varying compositions at a given numberaverage molecular weight. These copolymers exhibited unprecedentedly low cloud-point pressures in sc-CO2 at 40 °C compared with previously reported poly(vinyl esters). Surface tension measurements combined with a computational approach evidenced the prominent role played by polymer−polymer interactions.