2026/05/29 by Lena M. Hofbauer, Tatjana Radišcović, Jan Leodolter +1 · 1 voice
Chemical Engineering · Engineering · Materials Science · #Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysis #Lignin and Wood Chemistry #Polymer composites and self-healing
paper · doi:10.26434/chemrxiv.15004030/v1
openalex publication_date 2026/05/29 · openalex created_date 2026/05/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
This study presents findings on Lewis and Brønsted base catalysis in the reaction of aliphatic isocyanates with aliphatic and aromatic alcohols at room temperature and under solvent-free conditions. The electronic properties of the alcohols were examined to determine their impact on reaction rates, using Lewis and Brønsted bases, as well as the Lewis acid dibutyltin dilaureate (DBTL), as a reference. The results for primary aliphatic alcohols showed that none of the organo-bases could compete with DBTL in terms of catalytic activity. However, a strong dependence of the alcohols' acidity on the reaction rate was observed. With organo-base catalysis, more acidic alcohols, particularly phenols, react faster than less acidic ones. The opposite trend was observed with DBTL. Selectivity tests revealed preferential consumption of the more acidic alcohol when base-catalysis was used. DBTL causes aliphatic alcohols to react more readily than phenols. Accordingly, base catalysis offers high activity and selectivity in the carbamate formation from aromatic alcohols and aliphatic isocyanates.