Regioselectivity and selective enhancement of carbon dioxide fixation of 2-substituted aziridines to 2-oxazolidinones under supercritical conditions

Under supercritical CO2 conditions, regioselectivity in the carbon dioxide fixation of 2-substituted aziridines to 2-oxazolidinones was observed with good yields around 75%. Furthermore, when propylene imine was used in the place of aziridine, the yield was significantly and selectively increased around the critical pressure, and the maximum yield was obtained at 11.8 MPa. The turnover frequency (TOF) at this pressure is 2.1 times greater than that of a hitherto reported TOF which was obtained in ethanol at 6.9 MPa.