Name reaction Note Spiral Notebook

The Curtius rearrangement, as first defined by Theodor Curtius, is a chemical reaction that involves the rearrangement of an acyl azide to an isocyanate. The isocyanate can be trapped by a variety of nucleophiles. Water is often added in order to hydrolyze the isocyanate to an amine. When done in the presence of tert-butanol, the reaction generates Boc-protected amines, useful intermediates in organic synthesis.