Alkoxycarbonylation of industrially relevant anilines using Zn4O(O2CCH3)6 as catalyst

An efficient procedure is presented for the alkoxycarbonylation of industrially important amines using environmentally friendly alkyl carbonates as reagents and Zn₄O(OAc)₆ as catalyst. Aromatic amines in particular (thirteen examples) consistently give high yields (up to 98%), regardless of the electronic properties of the substituents or the ring substitution pattern.