Halogen-Free Synthesis of Carbamates from CO and Amines Using Titanium Alkoxides.

A direct synthesis of carbamates from amines and carbon dioxide in the presence of Ti(OR) (R=nBu (1), Me (2), Et (3), nPr (4)) was investigated. Aniline was reacted with titanium n-butoxide (1) in the presence of carbon dioxide (5 MPa) to give the corresponding n-butyl N-phenylcarbamate (BPC) in nearly quantitative yield (99 %) within 20 min. Furthermore, 1 could be regenerated upon reaction with n-butanol during water removal.