Switchable Solvents

Switchable Solvents

For many practical applications of solvents, the ability to “switch” the material’s properties during a process would be exceedingly useful.  Imagine, for example, a solvent that is capable of dissolving a desired product during an extraction or synthesis, and then afterwards can be “switched off” so that it is no longer capable of dissolving the product.  The product would then precipitate and be easily collected, without any need for distillation. The author invented the first switchable solvents in 2004 and has been working with his students to develop many more switchable liquid and solid materials since then. This presentation will summarize the three classes of switchable solvents, describe their structural design, and give example applications.

Philip Jessop

Dr.. Philip Jessop, FRSC, is a Professor of Green Chemistry at Queen’s University in Canada and the Technical Director of GreenCentre Canada.  His research interests include green solvents and the chemistry of CO₂ and H₂.  Recent distinctions include the NSERC Polanyi Award (2008), a Killam Research Fellowship (2010), Canadian Green Chemistry & Engineering Award (2012) and the Eni Award for New Frontiers for Hydrocarbons (2013).  He has chaired two major international conferences and helped create GreenCentre Canada, a centre for the commercialization of green chemistry technologies. For the 2013-14 academic year, he is the Landolt-Cie Professor in Innovations for a Sustainable Future at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland.