Iron-Catalyzed Highly Efficient Aerobic Oxidative Synthesis of Benzimidazoles,Benzoxazoles, and Benzothiazoles Directly from Aromatic Primary Amines Under Solvent-Free Conditions in the Open Air

Solvent-free oxidative synthesis of benzimidazoles, benzoxazoles, and benzothiazoles from aromatic primary amines and o-phenylenediamine, o-aminophenol, and o-aminothiophenol has been achieved by using Fe(NO₃)₃ and TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxyl). This reaction can use air as an economical and green oxidant, and a wide variety of derivatives were obtained in good to excellent yields. The reaction mechanism was proposed and this method provides a direct, practical, and efficient approach for the preparation of substituted benzimidazoles, benzoxazoles, and benzothiazoles.