-Compressed CO 2 is considered to be a viable alternative to toxic volatile organic solvents with potential applications in areas including separation reactions, and materials formation processes. Thus an interest in CO 2 stems from the fact that it is very inexpensive, has low toxicity, and is not a regulated. However, compressed CO 2 has a zero dipole moment and weak van der Waals forces and thus is a poor solvent for both polar and most high molecular weight solutes, characteristics that severely restrict its applicability. In order to overcome this inherent inability, surfactant-stabilized organic and aqueous dispersions in CO 2 have been proposed. This work will discuss fundamentals and recent advances in the design of amphiphiles for the novel CO 2 -water interface.