Ureas as safe carbonyl sources for the synthesis of carbamates with deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as efficient and recyclable solvent/catalyst systems

Abstract

A simple, efficient and eco-friendly one-pot synthesis of primary, N-mono- and N-disubstituted carbamates is developed from ureas. The corresponding carbamates were produced at 120 °C, within 18 h, and in the presence of a deep eutectic solvent as a recyclable catalytic system. The catalyst can be reused for several runs without any reduction in its activity. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, a wide variety of alcohols and phenols were studied to find a vast range of carbamate derivatives in moderate to high yields.