Iron‐Catalyzed Synthesis of Five‐Membered Cyclic Carbonates from Vicinal Diols: Urea as Sustainable Carbonylation Agent

A new iron‐catalyzed synthesis of cyclic carbonates from the corresponding vicinal diols and urea is described. This straightforward transformation allows for the preparation of a variety of five‐membered carbonates by employing an inexpensive and environmentally benign iron salt as the catalyst. The use of readily available feedstocks such as urea and polyols makes this a sustainable process. As ammonia is formed as the only stoichiometric byproduct, this process can also be characterized by its high atom economy.