AOT reverse microemulsions in scCO(2) - a further investigation

Abstract

The solubility of riboflavin (RF), potassium ferricyanide (K3Fe(CN)6) and polar components from yeast extract (YX) in a sodium bis-(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) modified supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) system was investigated. The results from RF solubility studies indicate that the microemulsion phase formed by AOT contains a polar core with an effective static dielectric constant of 20±5. Although this core is not indicative of bulk water, the overall improvement in polarity from pure scCO2 is approximately a factor of 10. K3Fe(CN)6, a highly ionic compound, could not be solubilised into the modified supercritical fluid, indicating that the core was not sufficiently polar to dis..