Preparation of urethanes by oxidative carbonylation of amines using copper carboxylates as oxidants

摘要

A process for preparing urethanes by reacting a primary or secondary amine with carbon monoxide, an alcohol, a catalytic quantity of a compound or complex of palladium, platinum or rhodium and a stoichiometric quantity of a copper(II) salt of a monocarboxylic acid. When the amine is aromatic, the process is conducted in the presence of a selected Lewis base promoter and a compound or complex of palladium.