Reaction Pathway and Free Energy Barrier for Urea Elimination in Aqueous Solution

To accurately predict the free energy barrier for urea elimination in aqueous solution, we examined the reaction coordinates for the direct and water-assisted elimination pathways, and evaluated the corresponding free energy barriers by using the surface and volume polarization for electrostatics (SVPE) model-based first-principles electronic-structure calculations. Based on the computational results, the water-assisted elimination pathway is dominant for urea elimination in aqueous solution, and the corresponding free energy barrier is 25.3 kcal/mol. The free energy barrier of 25.3 kcal/mol predicted for the dominant reaction pathway of urea elimination in aqueous solution is in good agreement with available experimental kinetic data.