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Concept
Isocyanate
Summary
In organic chemistry, isocyanate is the functional group with the formula . Organic compounds that contain an isocyanate group are referred to as isocyanates. An organic compound with two isocyanate groups is known as a diisocyanate. Diisocyanates are manufactured for the production of polyurethanes, a class of polymers.
Isocyanates should not be confused with cyanate esters and isocyanides, very different families of compounds. The cyanate (cyanate ester) functional group () is arranged differently from the isocyanate group (). Isocyanides have the connectivity , lacking the oxygen of the cyanate groups.
In terms of bonding, isocyanates are closely related to carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbodiimides (C(NR)2). The C−N=C=O unit that defines isocyanates is planar, and the N=C=O linkage is nearly linear. In phenyl isocyanate, the C=N and C=O distances are respectively 1.195 and 1.173 Å. The C−N=C angle is 134.9° and the N=C=O angle is 173.1°.
Isocyanates are usually produced from amines by phosgenation, i.e. treating with phosgene:
RNH2 + COCl2 -> RNCO + 2 HCl
These reactions proceed via the intermediacy of a carbamoyl chloride (). Owing to the hazardous nature of phosgene, the production of isocyanates requires special precautions.
Another route to isocyanates entails addition of isocyanic acid to alkenes. Complementarily, alkyl isocyanates form by displacement reactions involving alkyl halides and alkali metal cyanates.
Three rearrangement reactions involving nitrenes give isocyanates:
Schmidt reaction, a reaction where a carboxylic acid is treated with ammonia and hydrazoic acid yielding an isocyanate.
Curtius rearrangement degradation of an acyl azide to an isocyanate and nitrogen gas.
Lossen rearrangement, the conversion of a hydroxamic acid to an isocyanate via the formation of an O-acyl, sulfonyl, or phosphoryl intermediate.
Isocyanates are electrophiles, and as such they are reactive toward a variety of nucleophiles including alcohols, amines, and even water having a higher reactivity compared to structurally analogous isothiocyanates.
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Ontological neighbourhood
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Carbamate
In organic chemistry, a carbamate is a category of organic compounds with the general formula and structure , which are formally derived from carbamic acid (). The term includes organic compounds (e.g., the ester ethyl carbamate), formally obtained by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms by other organic functional groups; as well as salts with the carbamate anion (e.g. ammonium carbamate). Polymers whose repeat units are joined by carbamate like groups are an important family of plastics, the polyurethanes.
Carbonyl group
In organic chemistry, a carbonyl group is a functional group with the formula , composed of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom, and it is divalent at the C atom. It is common to several classes of organic compounds (such as aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids), as part of many larger functional groups. A compound containing a carbonyl group is often referred to as a carbonyl compound. The term carbonyl can also refer to carbon monoxide as a ligand in an inorganic or organometallic complex (a metal carbonyl, e.
Schmidt reaction
In organic chemistry, the Schmidt reaction is an organic reaction in which an azide reacts with a carbonyl derivative, usually an aldehyde, ketone, or carboxylic acid, under acidic conditions to give an amine or amide, with expulsion of nitrogen. It is named after Karl Friedrich Schmidt (1887–1971), who first reported it in 1924 by successfully converting benzophenone and hydrazoic acid to benzanilide. The intramolecular reaction was not reported until 1991 but has become important in the synthesis of natural products.