Synthesis of urea derivatives from amines and CO2 in the absence of catalyst and solvent

Urea derivatives are obtained in mild to good yield from the reactions of primary aliphatic amines with CO2 in the absence of any catalysts, organic solvents or other additives. To optimize reaction conditions, experimental variables including temperature, pressure, the concentration of amine, reaction time etc. were studied. Satisfactory yields were obtained at the optimized conditions that are comparable to the presence of catalyst and solvent. The preliminary investigation of the reaction mechanism showed that alkyl ammonium alkyl carbamate was quickly formed as the intermediate, and then the final product was formed by the intramolecular dehydration.