Polyurethanes are used in numerous applications such as elastomers, thermoplastics, textile and surface coatings, adhesives, dispersions and foams.  Unfortunately, their synthesis usually involves the use of isocyanates, a catalyst, and organic solvents, all of which tend to be toxic and environmentally unfriendly. It is also challenging to perform the polymerization in aqueous solution due to the lack of compatibility between isocyanates and water. On the other hand, it is common knowledge that activated dicarbonates undergo polycondensation with nucleophilic diamines to give polyurethanes. The viability of this reaction in aqueous media is highly dependent on the nature of the dicarbonate leaving group, which determines its chemoselectivity for diamines versus water.  Herein we report an expedient aqueous-phase method of synthesizing polyurethanes from activated carbonate precursors under catalyst- and isocyanate-free conditions.Scheme 1.  Isocyanate- and catalyst-free polyurethane synthesis in aqueous media.

Aqueous-phase polyurethane synthesis from activated carbonates under isocyanate- and catalyst-free conditions

246th National Meeting (2013)

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