Aromatic isocyanates, reaction with

Isocyanates react with carboxylic acids to form amides, ureas, anhydrides, and carbon dioxide, depending on reaction conditions and the structure of the starting materials (Scheme 4.13). Aliphatic isocyanates more readily give amides. Aromatic isocyanates tend to react with carboxylic acids to first generate anhydrides and ureas, which at elevated temperatures (ca. 160°C) may further react to give amides. In practice, the isocyanate reaction with carboxylic acid is rarely utilized deliberately but can be an unwanted side reaction resulting from residual C02H functionality in polyester polyols. 

For the non-catalyzed urethane reactions It was established (23) that the relative reactivities (ratios of rate constants) of substituted aromatic Isocyanates correlated with the structural parameter a of the substituent R (measuring the electron withdrawing ability of the substituent R) according to the Hammett equation ... 

Carbodimides 92, obtained from aza-Wittig reactions of iminophosphorane and aromatic isocyanates, reacted with primary amines to give isolable intermediate guanidines 93. Cyclization afforded selectively regjoisomer 94 with sodium ethoxide, whereas in its absence another regioisomer 95 was obtained <05CL1022>. 

Aromatic isocyanates react with regular olefins only in the presence of metal catalysts. For example, reaction of ethylene with phenyl isocyanate in the presence of liganded nickel (o) catalysts under argon in THF at -20 °C affords a five-membered ring metalla-cycle, which on hydrolysis gives a Af-substituted carboxylic acid amide. Heating of the metallacycle causes jS-elimination with formation of Af-substituted acrylic acid amides Diolefines and allenes also undergo this reaction with phenyl isocyanate. From 1,1-bis-p-dimethylaminophenylethylene and p-nitrophenyl isocyanate a linear 1 1 adduct is obtained... 

A variety of olefins or aromatic compounds having electron-donating substituents are known to undergo C—H iasertion reactions with isocyanates to form amides (36,37). Many of these reactions are known to iavolve cycHc iatermediates. 

Carboxyhc acids react with aryl isocyanates, at elevated temperatures to yield anhydrides. The anhydrides subsequently evolve carbon dioxide to yield amines at elevated temperatures (70—72). The aromatic amines are further converted into amides by reaction with excess anhydride. Ortho diacids, such as phthahc acid [88-99-3J, react with aryl isocyanates to yield the corresponding A/-aryl phthalimides (73). Reactions with carboxyhc acids are irreversible and commercially used to prepare polyamides and polyimides, two classes of high performance polymers for high temperature appHcations where chemical resistance is important. Base catalysis is recommended to reduce the formation of substituted urea by-products (74). 

Aromatic Isocyanates. A variety of methods are described in the Hterature for the synthesis of aromatic isocyanates. Only the phosgenation of amines or amine salts is used on a commercial scale (5). Much process refinement has occurred to minimise the formation of disubstituted ureas arising by the reaction of the generated isocyanate with the amine starting material. A listing of the key commercially available isocyanates is presented in Table 1. 

For methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), the initial reaction involves the condensation of aniline [62-53-3] (21) with formaldehyde [50-00-0] to yield a mixture of oligomeric amines (22, where n = 1, 2, 3...). For toluene diisocyanate, amine monomers are prepared by the nitration (qv) of toluene [108-88-3] and subsequent hydrogenation (see Amines byreduction). These materials are converted to the isocyanate, in the majority of the commercial aromatic isocyanate phosgenation processes, using a two-step approach. 

Attempts have been made to develop methods for the production of aromatic isocyanates without the use of phosgene. None of these processes is currently in commercial use. Processes based on the reaction of carbon monoxide with aromatic nitro compounds have been examined extensively (23,27,76). The reductive carbonylation of 2,4-dinitrotoluene [121 -14-2] to toluene 2,4-diaLkylcarbamates is reported to occur in high yield at reaction temperatures of 140—180°C under 6900 kPa (1000 psi) of carbon monoxide. The resultant carbamate product distribution is noted to be a strong function of the alcohol used. Mitsui-Toatsu and Arco have disclosed a two-step reductive carbonylation process based on a cost effective selenium catalyst (22,23). 

Organic Derivatives. Although numerous mono-, di-, and trisubstituted organic derivatives of cyanuric and isocyanuric acids appear in the hterature, many are not accessible via cyanuric acid. Cyanuric chloride 2,4,6-trichloro-j -triazine [108-77-0], is generally employed as the intermediate to most cyanurates. Trisubstituted isocyanurates can also be produced by trimerization of either aUphatic or aromatic isocyanates with appropriate catalysts (46) (see Isocyanates, organic). Alkylation of CA generally produces trisubstituted isocyanurates even when a deUberate attempt is made to produce mono- or disubstituted derivatives. There are exceptions, as in the production of mono-2-aminoethyl isocyanurate [18503-66-7] in nearly quantitative yield by reaction of CA and azitidine in DMF (47). 

A Wittig-type reaction of iminophosphorane 995 with benzoyl and ethoxycarbonyl isocyanates gave (91T6747) thiadiazolotriazines 996, whereas reaction of 995 with aromatic isocyanates afforded 997. On the other hand, iminophosphorane 995 reacted with methyl and benzyl isothiocyanates to give 998. Reaction of 995 with acid chlorides gave 999 (88H1935). All these compounds display mesoionic or zwitter ionic character (Scheme 184). 

Reaction of iminophosphorane 1006 with ethoxycarbonyl isocyanate gave (91T6747) regioselectively thiadiazolotriazine derivatives 1007, whereas treatment of 1006 with aromatic isocyanates in ethanol or in the presence of tetrafluoroboric acid afforded 1008 and 1009, respectively. Similarly, 1006 with methyl isocyanate gave 1010 (91T6747) (Scheme 187). 

Deprotonation of 1,3,4-thiadiazolium salts affords carbenes that can be trapped with aromatic isocyanates to yield spirocyclic compounds. These reactions have been reviewed in CHEC(1984) <1984CHEC(6)545> and CHEC-11(1996) <1996CHEC-II(4)379>. 

Isocyanates are capable of co-reacting to form dimers, oligomers and polymers. For example, aromatic isocyanates will readily dimerize when heated, although the presence of a substituent ortho to the -NCO group reduces this tendency. For example, toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is less susceptible to dimer formation than diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI). The dimerization reaction is reversible, with dissociation being complete above 200 °C. It is unusual for aliphatic isocyanates to form dimers, but they will readily form trimers, as do aromatic isocyanates. The polymerization of aromatic isocyanates is known, but requires the use of metallic sodium in DMF. 

Upon reaction of A -vinyliminophosphoranes (109) with aromatic isocyanates, vinylcarbodiimides (110) are formed, as shown in Scheme 47. Divi-nylcarbodiimides (111) can be obtained as side products (88CB271). With isonitriles the vinylcarbodiimides also afford pyrroles (112) via [4 + 1]-cycloaddition. Divinylcarbodiimide can also react via [4 -l- l]-cycloaddition with an isonitrile, whereupon an electrocyclic step of the initial diaza-1,3,5-trienes (113) follows. Finally, the pyrrolo[2,3-e]pyrazine 114 is obtained (88CB271). 

Oxadiazoles are obtained by reaction of aromatic isocyanates or CS2 with N-acylaminoiminophosphoranes (151), as shown in Scheme 60. Upon treatment with isocyanate, an unstable carbodiimide 152 is generated, which cyclizes spontaneously in 80-84% yield. With CS2 as reagent, the corresponding isocyanate cyclizes without isolation of any intermediates to 2-mercapto-l,3,4-oxadiazole 154 in 72-90% yield [91PS(57)11]. 

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