Topic summary

Carbamate

Carbamate

In organic chemistry, a carbamate is a category of organic compounds with the general formulaR2NC(O)OR and structure>N−C(=O)−O−, which are formally derived from carbamic acid (NH2COOH). The term includes organic compounds (e.g., the esterethyl carbamate), formally obtained by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms by other organic functional groups; as well as salts with the carbamate anionH2NCOO (e.g. ammonium carbamate).

Polymers whose repeat units are joined by carbamate like groups −NH−C(=O)−O− are an important family of plastics, the polyurethanes.