Cyclic carbamates based on (R)-(+)-limonene oxide for ring-opening polymerization

A novel synthetic pathway for synthesizing isocyanate-free polyurethanes is reported here. β-Amino alcohols were efficiently synthesized from the aminolysis of the epoxide ring of (R)-(+)-limonene oxide with different primary amines as nucleophiles and hot water as catalysts. The regio- and diastereoselectivities of the reactions were investigated and supported by computational studies. DFT calculations were performed to understand the experimental results more deeply. It confirmed the crucial roles of water molecules and the nature of the nucleophile in forming the products. The formation of the product is entirely driven by the free energy of activation that affects the reaction rate. Cyclic carbamates were prepared from β-amino alcohols using the dialkyl carbonate (DAC) chemistry. An oligourethane was obtained from Anionic Ring-Opening Polymerization (AROP) of a cyclic carbamate derived from (R)-(+)-limonene-oxide. All the products were characterized by employing ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopies. The assignments of the signals in ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra were also supported by 2D NMR spectroscopy.