G. Raspoet et al., EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL EVIDENCE FOR A CONCERTED CATALYSIS BY WATER CLUSTERS IN THE HYDROLYSIS OF ISOCYANATES, Journal of organic chemistry, 63(20), 1998, pp. 6867-6877
A kinetic and mechanistic investigation of the catalyzed hydration of
isocyanates was undertaken. Both experimental and theoretical results
showed that the hydrolysis reaction involves a chain of water molecule
s. The detailed hydration mechanism by water and water clusters (H-N=C
=O + n(H2O) --> H2NCOOH + (n - 1)H2O, n = 1-3) has been modeled by ab
initio methods, both in the gas phase and in aqueous solution. While t
wo water molecules in the form of a dimer seem to play the key role in
hydrating the isocyanate, a third water molecule may be needed to bri
dge the gap from the point of attack on the isocyanate to the water di
mer and to facilitate further the hydration. In accordance with these
facts, experimental results imply a second-order dependence on water d
uring its nucleophilic addition to phenyl isocyanate, over a wide conc
entration range. In this specific case, water oligomers higher than th
e dimer seem to make no appreciable contribution to the rate of the hy
drolysis reaction. The nucleophilic addition occurs in a concerted way
across the N=C bond of the isocyanate rather than across the C=O bond
. This preferential reaction mechanism could be rationalized in terms
of Fukui functions for both nucleophilic and electrophilic attacks. Al
though a charge separation occurs in the transition state, electrostat
ic solvent effects are not quite important in reducing only marginally
the energy barriers.