Zinc Powder Catalysed Formylation and Urealation of Amines Using CO2 as a C1 Building Block†

Transformation of CO₂ into valuable organic compounds catalysed by cheap and biocompatible metal catalysts is one of important topics of current organic synthesis and catalysis. Herein, we report the zinc powder catalysed formylation and urealation of amines with CO₂ and (EtO)₃SiH under solvent free condition. Using 2 mol% zinc powder as the catalyst, a series of secondary amines, both the aromatic ones and the aliphatic ones, can be formylated into formamides. When primary aromatic amines were used as the substrates, the reactions produce urea derivatives. The electronic and steric effects from the substrates on the formylation and urealation reactions were observed and discussed. The recovery and reusability of zinc powder were investigated, showing the zinc powder can be reused in the formylation reaction without loss of catalytic activity. The analysis on the reactants/products mixture after filtering out the zinc powder showed the zinc concentration in the mixture is low to 1 ppm. The pathways for the formylation and urealation of amines with this catalytic system were also investigated, and related to the different substrates.