Synthesis of 1,3-dialkylurea from ethylene carbonate and amine using calcium oxide

Several basic metal oxide catalysts were tested for the synthesis of 1,3-disubstituted urea from ethylene carbonate (EC) and amine. Among the catalysts used, CaO has been found to be an excellent recyclable catalyst for the reaction. It has been suggested that strongly basic property of CaO results in its high activity. Disubstituted ureas are obtained from propylamine and butylamine with high yields at 100 °C. Slightly higher reaction temperatures are necessary for obtaining good yields from amines having larger molecular weights and urea is not produced from dibutylamine as a secondary amine. Propylene carbonate can be used instead of EC for the reaction. A reaction mechanism was proposed, which involves reaction between EC and amine giving a carbamate followed by catalytic reaction between the carbamate and amine, yielding 1,3-disubstituted urea. It is suggested that the latter reaction is the rate-determining step. On the basis of this reaction mechanism, the synthesis of unsymmetric urea was also examined. 2-Hydroxyethyl butylcarbamate is selectively produced from EC with butylamine in the absence of the catalyst at a low temperature and reacts with benzylamine producing 1-butyl-3-benzylurea along with symmetric dialkyl ureas.     

Silicon-(thio)urea Lewis acid catalysis

We present a new class of catalysts based on the combination of N,N'-diaryl(thio)ureas and weak silicon Lewis acids (e.g., SiCl(4)). Such silicon-(thio)urea catalysts effectively catalyze the stereospecific rearrangement of epoxides to quaternary carbaldehydes.     

Development of novel chiral urea catalysts for the hetero-Michael reaction

Chiral urea compounds 10a-g were synthesized as catalysts for conjugate addition of pyrrolidine (2) to gamma-crotonolactone (3). In the presence of a catalytic amount of the chiral ureas, this hetero-Michael reaction was greatly accelerated. Asymmetric induction was observed with the catalysts 10e, 10f, and 10g.     

Synthesis and Bioactivity of Novel Fluorinated Heteroaromatic Ureas

In order to find new urea cytokinins, a series of novel fluorinated heteroaromatic ureas have been designed and synthesized. The crystal structure of 3g was further determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction to obtain the structural feature of this class of urea compounds. The preliminary bioassay showed that some title compounds have good cytokinin activity.     

Tetrablock Copolymers Based on Oligoether Diols, 2,4-toluene diisocyanate,Isophorone Diisocyanate,and Methylene-bis-о-chloroaniline

Tetrablock polyurethane ureas with mixed soft segments and dissimilar hard urethane urea blocks, based on oligo(propylene oxide)diol, oligo(tetramethylene oxide)diol, 2,4-toluene diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate, and methylene-bis-o-chloroaniline as a low-molecular-mass chain extender were synthesized and studied. The fragmentary ordering of the polymer chains of the new polyurethane urea was proved by rheokinetic data. The structure–property relationship for the polymer was found. The new polyurethane ureas surpass in the true strength the available diblock polyurethane ureas with poly(propylene oxide) soft segments by a factor of 1.5. The strength properties of the new tetrablock polyurethane ureas only weakly depend on the strain rate varied in the range 0.56–0.006 s^–1.

     

N－5－四唑基－N′－芳甲酰基脲的合成及其生物活性

合成了15个新的含四唑的基的芳甲酰基脲类化合物，用IR，^1H NMR和元素分 析证实了它们的结构，并进行了初步的生物活性试验，生测结果证明一些目标化合 物具有优良的植物生长调节活性，其中N－5－四唑基－N′－芳甲酰基脲（2h)和N －5－四唑基－N′－对溴苯基甲酰基脲（2j)具有很好的生长素活性，2h,2j和N－ 5－四唑基－N′－对甲基苯基甲酰基脲（2m）具有优良的细胞分裂素活性。     

Synthesis and stacked conformations of symmetrical and unsymmetrical oligo-ureas of metaphenylenediamine

The addition of substituted anilines to nitro-substituted isocyanates followed by reduction generates new aniline-substituted ureas, which can be further extended in a one- or two-directional iterative manner to form oligomeric ureas based on a m-phenylenediamine monomer. Oligo-ureas with up to eight urea linkages are reported. Fully N-substituted oligo-ureas are crystalline, and the X-ray crystal structures display ring-stacked conformations. 1H NMR studies indicate that the stacked conformation persists in solution.     

Synthesis of 5-benzoyl-5-phenyl- and 5-phenylhydroxymethyl-5-phenylhydantoins as potential anticonvulsants

A series of 5-benzoyl-5-phenyl- and S-phenyl-5-phenylhydroxymethylhydantoins have been synthesized from the reaction of urea, N-monosubstituted ureas and sym-N-N-disubstituted ureas with phenyltriketone hydrate, via a pinacol-pinacolone-type rearrangement mechanism. The compounds were evaluated for anti-convulsant activity in mice.     

N-5-(1H-1,2,4-三唑基）-N'-芳甲酰基脲的合成与生物活性

以5-氨基-1H-1，2，4-三唑-3-羧酸与酰基异氰酸酯反应，合成了15个新的N- 5-（1H-1，2，4-三唑基）-N'-芳甲酰基脲，用核磁共振氢谱、红外光谱和元素分 析确证了其结构，并进行了室内生物活性测试。生测试验证明部分酰基脲类化合物 具有良好的植物生长调节活性，其中N-5（3-羧基-1，2，4-三唑基）-N'-o-氯苯甲 酰基脲、N-5-（3-羧基-1，2，4-三唑基）-N'-o-溴苯甲酰基脲和N-5-(3-羧基-1， 2，4-三唑基）-N'-p(或m)-甲基苯甲酰基脲具有优良的生长素活性。     

Urea‐Induced Acid Amplification: A New Approach for Metal‐Free Insertion Chemistry

The enhanced catalytic activity of difluoroboronate ureas proved to be essential as an acidity amplifier to promote metal‐free O?H and S?H insertion reactions of α‐aryldiazoacetates in high yield. This methodology was found to be generally applicable to a broad substrate scope and presents a conceptually new approach for organocatalytic diazo insertion reactions. Mechanistic investigations suggest that the reaction pathway involves a urea‐induced protonation of the α‐aryldiazoester.     

The urea renaissance

Over the last decade the use of urea derivatives as useful reagents, catalysts, and structural features in organic chemistry has increased rapidly. They now find utility as hydrogen-bond donors in organocatalysts and anion transporters, as important scaffolds in supramolecular chemistry, as lithiation directors, amination substrates, and promoters of metalation, and as substrates for novel rearrangement reactions. Highlighted herein is the remarkably rapid and recent development of the chemistry of ureas, which for many years had been considered unreactive, intractable, and of little value.     

Computational study-led organocatalyst design: a novel, highly active urea-based catalyst for addition reactions to epoxides

An in silico study examined the stabilities of hydrogen-bonded complexes between simple thiourea catalysts and three different electrophiles and identified a novel, highly active N-tosyl urea catalyst for the promotion of addition reactions to epoxide electrophiles. Synthesis and evaluation of 6 revealed it to be a powerful catalyst for the addition of 1,2-dimethylindole to styrene oxide under conditions in which simple N,N-bis-aryl ureas and thioureas (including 1) are inactive. Subsequent studies determined 6 to be compatible with a range of indole and epoxide substrates (including (E)-stilbene oxide) and found that relatively poor nucleophiles such as sterically and electronically deactivated anilines, thiophenol, and benzyl alcohol could be efficiently and regioselectively added to oxiranes under mild conditions.     

Microwave Assisted Synthesis of N-Aryl-N'-[5-(4- Chlorophenyl)-2-Furoyl]-Thioureas And Ureas

Substituted thioureas have attracted much attention due to their herbicidal1, antibacterial2, anti-HIV3 and plant-growth regulating4 activity. Meanwhile substituted ureas are not only used as medicines and agrochemicals because of their antiinflammatory5, analgesic5 and insectcidal6 activity, but also used as intermediates for the synthesis of many important heterocyclic compounds. In addition, 5-aryl-2-furoic acid derivatives have been used as antibacterial agent7, local anesthesia8, analgesic9 and plant-growth regulator10. Therefore, with the objective of obtaining new biologically active compounds, it is necessary to investigate the convenient and efficient method to prepare new compounds bearing 5-aryl-2-furoyl and thiourea or 5-aryl-2-furoyl and urea moieties.     

Steric effects of pH switchable,substituted (2-pyridinium)urea organocatalysts: a solution and solid phase study

The study of hydrogen bonding organocatalysis is rapidly expanding. Much research has been directed at making catalysts more active and selective, with less attention on fundamental design strategies. This study systematically increases steric hindrance at the active site of pH switchable urea organocatalysts. Incorporating strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds from protonated pyridines to oxygen stabilizes the active conformation of these ureas thus reducing the entropic penalty that results from substrate binding. The effect of increasing steric hindrance was studied by single crystal X-ray diffraction and by kinetics experiments of a benchmark reaction.     

Synthesis of Novel Biologically Active Proflavine Ureas Designed on the Basis of Predicted Entropy Changes

A novel series of proflavine ureas, derivatives 11a–11i, were synthesized on the basis of molecular modeling design studies. The structure of the novel ureas was obtained from the pharmacological model, the parameters of which were determined from studies of the structure-activity relationship of previously prepared proflavine ureas bearing n-alkyl chains. The lipophilicity (LogP) and the changes in the standard entropy (ΔS°) of the urea models, the input parameters of the pharmacological model, were determined using quantum mechanics and cheminformatics. The anticancer activity of the synthesized derivatives was evaluated against NCI-60 human cancer cell lines. The urea derivatives azepyl 11b, phenyl 11c and phenylethyl 11f displayed the highest levels of anticancer activity, although the results were only a slight improvement over the hexyl urea, derivative 11j, which was reported in a previous publication. Several of the novel urea derivatives displayed GI₅₀ values against the HCT-116 cancer cell line, which suggest the cytostatic effect of the compounds azepyl 11b–0.44 μM, phenyl 11c–0.23 μM, phenylethyl 11f–0.35 μM and hexyl 11j–0.36 μM. In contrast, the novel urea derivatives 11b, 11c and 11f exhibited levels of cytotoxicity three orders of magnitude lower than that of hexyl urea 11j or amsacrine.     

Infrared spectra of cyclic and non-cyclic ureas in solution: structures and interactions

Infrared spectra of 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, 2-imidazolidinone, 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea, 1,3-dimethylurea, and 1,1-dimethylurea have been collected in a variety of solvents. When the C=O stretching frequencies for the molecules in a common solvent were recorded, higher frequencies were found for the cyclic ureas as compared to the non-cyclic ureas. When data were analyzed within each class of urea derivatives, it was found that an increase in the number of methyl groups present on the nitrogen atoms contributed to a decrease in the C=O stretching frequency values. The frequencies of the C=O stretching modes have been correlated with the electron accepting ability of each solvent (represented by Gutmann electron acceptor numbers). The urea derivatives in the studied series exhibit similar behavior with respect to changing solvent environment despite the differences that exist among the ureas. These observations have been interpreted in terms of the structural characteristics of the ureas.     

One-Pot Synthesis of 3,4-Dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones Catalyzed by Acidic Ionic Liquids Under Solvent-Free Conditions

The acidic ionic liquids were new catalysts for the one-pot Biginelli reaction coupling of aldehyde, 1,3-dicarbonyl compound, and urea to afford the corresponding dihydropyrimidinones in good yields under solvent-free conditions. The catalysts could be recycled and reused five times without a noticeable decrease in catalytic activity.     

含柔性间隔基的扩链脲增韧环氧树脂性能研究——环氧树脂／扩链脲／双氰双胺体系性能研究

合成了含不同分子量柔性间隔基的扩链脲（Ｕｉ），并对其与双氰双胺共同固化环氧树脂体系的反应活性、抗冲击性能、动态力学性能、形态结构及贮存性能进行了考察。结果表明：含分子量为４００的聚乙二醇柔性链的扩链脲／双氰双胺／环氧树脂固化体系的抗冲击强度较单纯双氰双胺／环氧树脂固化体系提高了７倍左右，其冲击试样断面电镜照片呈韧性断裂的特征。扩链脲的反应活性基本不受分子中聚乙二醇链段分子量的影响。环氧树脂／扩链脲／双氰双胺体系在５０℃下贮存期可达１～２天。     

From CO oxidation to CO2 activation: an unexpected catalytic activity of polymer-supported nanogold

A simple, clean, safe, and reproducible catalyst system, polymer-supported nanogold, was successfully developed for the fixation of CO2 to cyclic carbonate and for the carbonylation of amines to disubstituted ureas with unprecedented catalytic activity (TOF > 50 000 mol/mol/h and TOFP approximately 3000 mol/mol/h, respectively). To the best of our knowledge, it was the first to report that nanogold catalysts have exclusive catalytic activity for activation of carbon dioxide, and that the catalytic activity of the polymer-immobilized nanogold catalysts could be controlled by the particle size of the nanogold.     

Bringing Homogeneous Iron Catalysts on the Heterogeneous Side: Solutions for Immobilization

Noble metal catalysts currently dominate the landscape of chemical synthesis, but cheaper and less toxic derivatives are recently emerging as more sustainable solutions. Iron is among the possible alternative metals due to its biocompatibility and exceptional versatility. Nowadays, iron catalysts work essentially in homogeneous conditions, while heterogeneous catalysts would be better performing and more desirable systems for a broad industrial application. In this review, approaches for heterogenization of iron catalysts reported in the literature within the last two decades are summarized, and utility and critical points are discussed. The immobilization on silica of bis(arylimine)pyridyl iron complexes, good catalysts in the polymerization of olefins, is the first useful heterogeneous strategy described. Microporous molecular sieves also proved to be good iron catalyst carriers, able to provide confined geometries where olefin polymerization can occur. Same immobilizing supports (e.g., MCM-41 and MCM-48) are suitable for anchoring iron-based catalysts for styrene, cyclohexene and cyclohexane oxidation. Another excellent example is the anchoring to a Merrifield resin of an Fe^II-anthranilic acid complex, active in the catalytic reaction of urea with alcohols and amines for the synthesis of carbamates and N-substituted ureas, respectively. A SILP (Supported Ionic Liquid Phase) catalytic system has been successfully employed for the heterogenization of a chemoselective iron catalyst active in aldehyde hydrogenation. Finally, Fe^III ions supported on polyvinylpyridine grafted chitosan made a useful heterogeneous catalytic system for C–H bond activation.