Highly Selective Phosgene-Free Carbamoylation of Aniline by Dimethyl Carbonate under Continuous-Flow Conditions

Over the last 20 years organic carbamates have found numerous applications in pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, dyes, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and as protecting groups and intermediates for polyurethane synthesis. Recently, in order to avoid phosgene-based synthesis of carbamates, many environmentally benign and alternative pathways have been investigated. However, few examples of carbamoylation of aniline in continuous-flow apparatus have been reported. In this work, we report a high-yielding, dimethyl carbonate (DMC)-mediated carbamoylation of aniline in a fixed-bed continuously fed reactor employing basic zinc carbonate as catalyst. Several variables of the system have been investigated (i.e. molar ratio of reagents, flow rate, and reaction temperature) to optimize the operating conditions of the system.