Acidic Ionic Liquids as Efficient and Environmentally Benign Medium for the Synthesis of 2-Phenylbenzimidazole

2‐Substituted benzimidazoles have been synthesized in excellent yields under solvent‐free conditions using a series of acidic ionic liquids as catalysts. The results indicate that SO₃H‐functionalized ionic liquids show higher catalytic activities than other acidic ionic liquids. The effects of reaction conditions such as the amounts of ionic liquids, the ratio of reactants were investigated. A Hammett method was used to determine the acidity order of these ionic liquids and the results were found to be relevant to the catalytic activities observed in the synthesis reaction. Besides, the reaction mechanism was stimulated using DFT method.