Computational exploration of urethane formation in the presence of amine catalysts
- 1Ministry of Environment
- 2Higher Education and Industrial Cooperation Centre, University of Miskolc
- 3ELI-ALPS, ELI-HU Non-Profit Ltd.
Abstract
Polyurethanes are highly versatile polymers widely used in industry to produce a broad range of materials. Their synthesis from diisocyanates and polyols under industrial conditions typically requires a catalyst—or a combination of catalysts—which plays a critical role in determining reaction efficiency and selectivity. In this study, we examined a diverse set of amine catalysts to identify key properties relevant to selecting the most suitable species for specific applications. To this end, we evaluated both structural and energetic descriptors, namely steric parameters (expressed as %Vbur) and proton affinities (PA). The results show that 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole (APIM) possesses the lowest calculated proton affinity (905.8 kJ mol− 1) among the studied compounds, indicating a greater tendency of its conjugate acid to donate a proton. In contrast, steric analysis revealed that tertiary amines generally exhibit higher buried volumes than primary and secondary amines. Notably, the differences in %VBur values between 2,2’-dimorpholinodiethylether (DMDEE) (67.0%), dimethylaminoethylether (DMAEM-1 N*) (66.4%), and N-Ethylmorpholine (NEM*) (65.8%) are relatively small; these values indicate similar steric environments, rather than a strictly greater steric effect for one catalyst over the others. However, given the small numerical differences, these catalysts can be considered to exhibit comparable steric profiles. Overall, this work provides deeper insight into how electronic and steric factors influence urethane formation and offers a rational basis for selecting appropriate catalysts tailored to specific applications.
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BibTeX
@article{waleed2026computational,
title = {{Computational exploration of urethane formation in the presence of amine catalysts}},
author = {Hadeer Q. Waleed and László Farkas and Béla Viskolcz and Mousumi Upadhyay Kahaly and Béla Fiser},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-64017-6},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64017-6},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Computational exploration of urethane formation in the presence of amine catalysts
AU - Hadeer Q. Waleed
AU - László Farkas
AU - Béla Viskolcz
AU - Mousumi Upadhyay Kahaly
AU - Béla Fiser
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-64017-6
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64017-6
AB - Polyurethanes are highly versatile polymers widely used in industry to produce a broad range of materials. Their synthesis from diisocyanates and polyols under industrial conditions typically requires a catalyst—or a combination of catalysts—which plays a critical role in determining reaction efficiency and selectivity. In this study, we examined a diverse set of amine catalysts to identify key properties relevant to selecting the most suitable species for specific applications. To this end, we evaluated both structural and energetic descriptors, namely steric parameters (expressed as %Vbur) and proton affinities (PA). The results show that 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole (APIM) possesses the lowest calculated proton affinity (905.8 kJ mol− 1) among the studied compounds, indicating a greater tendency of its conjugate acid to donate a proton. In contrast, steric analysis revealed that tertiary amines generally exhibit higher buried volumes than primary and secondary amines. Notably, the differences in %VBur values between 2,2’-dimorpholinodiethylether (DMDEE) (67.0%), dimethylaminoethylether (DMAEM-1 N*) (66.4%), and N-Ethylmorpholine (NEM*) (65.8%) are relatively small; these values indicate similar steric environments, rather than a strictly greater steric effect for one catalyst over the others. However, given the small numerical differences, these catalysts can be considered to exhibit comparable steric profiles. Overall, this work provides deeper insight into how electronic and steric factors influence urethane formation and offers a rational basis for selecting appropriate catalysts tailored to specific applications.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -