At 200 ℃ and 50 mPa, the oxidative carbonylation of amines catalyzed by organic gold complexes HAuCl 4, Au(PPh 3)Cl, Au(PPh 3) 2Cl, Au(PPh 3)NO 3 and [Au(PPh 3)] 2S afforded R(NHCO 2CH 3) n with a high conversion and selectivity. The best results were obtained when using the catalyst Au(PPh 3)Cl in the presence of PPh 3. The catalytic efficiency of catalytic Au(PPh 3)Cl was compared to Pd(PPh 3) 2Cl 2, e.g. the conversion was 97.2% and selectivity was 89% when using catalyst Au(PPh 3)Cl in the presence of PPh 3, while the conversion was 98.8% and selectivity was 86% when using catalyst Pd(PPh 3) 2Cl 2 in the presence of PPh 3. The experimental results suggested that Au complexes might be promising catalysts instead of Pd catalysts for the oxidative carbonylation of amines to carbamates.
