Theoretical study of the gas-phase thermolysis reaction of alkyl (ethyl, isopropyl, and tert-butyl) N,N-dimethylcarbamates and N,N-diethylcarbamates

Abstract

Theoretical studies on the thermolysis in the gas phase of alkyl N,N-dialkylcarbamates were carried out using ab initio theoretical methods, at the MP2/6-31G(d), MP2/6-31++G(d,p) and MP2/6-311++G(2d,p)//MP2/6-31G(d) levels. The reactions have two steps: the first one corresponds to the formation of an alkene and a neutral dialkylcarbamic acid intermediate via a six-membered cyclic transition state; the second one is the decarboxylation of this intermediate via a four-membered cyclic transition state, leading to carbon dioxide and the corresponding dialkylamine. The progress of the reactions was followed by means of the Wiberg bond indices. The results indicate that the transition states have character intermediate between reactants and products, and the calculated synchronicities show that the reactions are slightly asynchronous. The bond-breaking processes are more advanced than the bond-forming ones, indicating a bond deficiency in the transition states. The rate constants calculated for all the reactions agree very well with the available experimental data.