[Grant Knight]

I work for the New Zealand Government on Border Biosecurity, specifically the fumigation of incoming shipping containers.  There is a drive on to stop using Methyl Bromide as the primary fumigant gas (ozone depleter) and possibly replace it with Methyl Iodide (quickly degrades in sunlight).  MeI is an expensive material and I would like to use as it a mixture with Ethyl Formate, a mitochondrial enzyme inhibitor, that, in combination with MeI, should provide a synergistic advantage and require less methyl iodide per fumigation.  The best way to dispense Methyl Iodide, and efficiently gasify it, is from a pressurised, dissolved solution in liquid carbon dioxide.  Ethyl Formate is also soluble in carbon dioxide and my question is... would a mixture of methyl iodide and methyl formate dissolved together in liquid carbon dioxide be stable?

Grant

[nj_bartel]

I think you'll be alright... Only ester/alkyl halide reaction I know of offhand actually uses a diester.  I would wait for more replies though.