One Pot Synthesis of Methyl N-Phenyl Carbamate from Aniline, Urea and Methanol

Methyl N-phenyl carbamate (MPC) was synthesized from aniline, urea and methanol. The effects of catalysts, loading amounts, preparation condition of catalyst and reaction condition on the synthesis of MPC were investigated. It was shown that KNO(3) modified zeolite HY gave the best performance to MPC formation among the evaluated catalysts, over which 93.1% aniline conversion and 82.6% MPC selectivity were obtained under the optimum reaction condition. Additionally, a possible catalytic mechanism to the formation of MPC in this reaction was proposed.