The thermal decomposition of t-alkyl N-arylcarbamates. I. The effect of ring substituents

A series of t-butyl N-arylcarbamates in which the aryl group is a phenyl or a meta- or para-substituted phenyl ring has been prepared. Decomposition of these compounds in diphenyl ether at 177.5 °C has shown that the reaction is essentially first order, yielding carbon dioxide, isobutylene, and the corresponding amine. The rates of decomposition increase with increasing electronegativity of the substituent on the aromatic nucleus, and give a Hammett plot with a slope of 0.54. A cyclic mechanism is proposed for the decomposition reaction.