A Simple and Convenient Synthesis of 4‐Ylidene‐5(4H)oxazolone Derivatives: Oxazolone Ring Transformation Leading to Other Heterocyclic Structures

Simple, effective, and high yield synthetic procedure for the synthesis of 4‐ylidene‐5(4H)‐oxazolones 2a–m from arylidene‐malononitriles under solvent‐free conditions is described. The scope of this reaction was investigated, and it was found that the presence of anhydrous sodium acetate gave the corresponding oxazolones in excellent yields. The newly generated oxazolone derivative 2m underwent ring transformation into pyrroles, imidazoles, pyridazine, and triazines.     

Europium Triflate–Catalyzed One‐Pot Synthesis of 2,4,5‐Trisubstituted‐1H‐imidazoles via a Three‐component Condensation

A simple, efficient, and practical procedure for synthesis of 2,4,5‐trisubstituted‐1H‐imidazoles via the condensation of benzoin or acetoin, aromatic aldehydes, and ammonium acetate using europium triflate [Eu(OTf)₃] as a novel catalyst in high yields is described. The catalyst can be recovered conveniently and reused at least four times without any loss of activity.     

Rhodium(III)/Amine Synergistically Catalyzed Enantioselective Alkylation of Aldehydes with α,β‐Unsaturated 2‐Acyl Imidazoles

A synergistic catalysis combination of chiral‐at‐metal rhodium complex and amine catalyst was developed for enantioselective alkylation of aldehydes with α,β‐unsaturated 2‐acyl imidazoles. The corresponding adducts were obtained in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee).     

An Efficient N‐Arylation of Heterocycles with Aryl‐, Heteroaryl‐, and Vinylboronic Acids Catalyzed by Copper Fluorapatite

N‐Arylation of N‐containing heterocycles, such as pyrazoles, imidazoles, and benzimidazoles with aryl‐, heteroaryl‐, and vinylboronic acids was efficiently carried out by copper fluorapatite (CuFAP) catalyst in MeOH at room temperature under base‐free conditions. The N‐arylated heterocycles were isolated in good‐to‐excellent yields.     

De Novo Synthesis of Imidazoles by Visible‐Light‐Induced Photocatalytic Aerobic Oxidation/[3+2] Cycloaddition/Aromatization Cascade

A visible‐light‐induced photocatalytic aerobic oxidation/[3+2] cycloaddition/aromatization cascade between secondary amines and isocyanides has been successfully developed. The reaction provides a general and efficient access to diversely substituted imidazoles and imidazo[1,5‐a]quinoxalin‐4(5 H)‐ones in good yields under mild conditions.     

A Simple and Efficient Copper(Ⅱ) Complex as a Catalyst for N-Arylation of Imidazoles

Four inexpensive and air‐/moisture‐stable pyrrolecarbaldiminato‐Cu complexes 1 – 4 were synthesized and evaluated to be a novel class of catalysts for the N‐arylation of imidazoles with aryl halides. A variety of aryl iodides, bromides and activated aryl chlorides underwent the coupling with imidazoles, promoted by the catalyst 4 , in moderate to good yields without the protection by an inert gas.     

Synthesis of nitrogen‐containing heterocycles 10. Reaction of 2‐amino‐1h‐imidazole derivatives with ethoxymethylene compounds

The direct annelation reaction of 4‐substituted 2‐amino‐l‐benzylideneamino‐1H‐imidazoles ( 1 ) or 2‐amino‐1‐isopropylideneamino‐1H‐imidazole ( 8 ) with ethoxymethylenemalononitrile ( I ) gave successfully bicyclic imidazo[1,2‐a]pyrimidine compounds 2 and 9 in high yields. The reactions of other ethoxymethylene compounds of lower reactivity, i.e., ethyl ethoxymethylenecyanoacetate ( II ) and diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate ( III ), with 2‐amino‐1H‐imidazoles under similar conditions afforded the corresponding enamines 3, 4 and 10 , which, upon heating in the presence of an acid or a base, could readily be cyclized to form imidazopyrimidines except for 1‐isopropylideneamino compound 10 . In general, the 3‐phenyl compounds ( 3b and 4b ) did not cyclize to the type 2 compound resulting in a full recovery of the starting enamines.     

Silica-bonded S-Sulfonic Acid: A Recyclable Catalyst for the Synthesis of Trisubstituted Imidazoles under Solvent-free Conditions

Trisubstituted imidazoles have been synthesized in high yields in the presence of silica‐bonded S‐sulfonic acid as a catalyst. The reaction was carried out at 130°C under solvent‐free conditions. The reaction work‐up is simple and the catalyst is easily separated from the products by filtration.     

1,1,3,3‐N,N,N′,N′‐Tetramethylguanidinium Trifluoroacetate Ionic Liquid–Promoted Efficient One‐Pot Synthesis of Trisubstituted Imidazoles

Trisubstituted imidazoles have been synthesized in very short reaction times with excellent yields in the presence of 1,1,3,3‐N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylguanidinium trifluoroacetate as an ionic liquid at 100°C. The ionic liquid can be recycled for subsequent reactions without any appreciable loss of efficiency.     

Base‐Mediated Syntheses of Di‐ and Trisubstituted Imidazoles from Amidine Hydrochlorides and Bromoacetylenes

A new transition metal‐free method for the preparation of substituted imidazoles from easy‐to‐handle amidine hydrochlorides and bromoacetylenes has been developed. The reactions proceed in air and use inexpensive K₂CO₃ as base. Additions of 2,2′‐bipyridine and water have beneficial effects on the product yields. Various di‐ and trisubstituted imidazoles have been prepared in good yields (up to 88 %).     

A Transition‐Metal‐Free Synthesis of Multisubstituted Imidazoles

A novel and simple t‐BuOLi/I₂‐mediated synthesis of 1,2,4‐trisubstituted imidazoles was developed without transition‐metal added. The transition‐metal‐free strategy tolerated a range of substrates and provided products in moderate to good yields with 100% regioselectivity.     

Copper(I)‐Catalyzed Intramolecular Direct C‐Arylation of Azoles with Aryl Bromides

A concise route to access 5H‐imidazo[2,1‐a]isoindole heterofused compounds by copper(I)‐catalyzed intramolecular coupling of non‐activated aryl bromides with azoles is reported. With CuI as catalyst, 1,10‐phenanthroline as ligand, and K₃PO₄ as base, the reactions of 1‐(2‐bromobenzyl)‐1H‐imidazoles in DMF/o‐xylene (1:1, V:V) at 145°C afford the corresponding substituted 5H‐imidazo[2,1‐a]isoindoles in high yields via intramolecular C‐arylation.     

Efficient Room‐Temperature Synthesis of Tri‐ and Tetrasubstituted Imidazoles Catalyzed by ZrCl4

A general protocol has been developed for the rapid synthesis of 2,4,5‐trisubstituted and 1,2,4,5‐tetrasubstituted imidazoles in high yields using ZrCl₄ as an efficient catalyst at room temperature. A variety of aromatic, aliphatic, and terpenoidal aldehydes underwent condensation with NH₄OAc/amines to give the imidazoles. Similarly, the imidazole glycoconjugates are prepared in good yields from the corresponding glycosyl aldehydes.     

Preparation of a clinically investigated ras farnesyl transferase inhibitor

The synthesis of ras farnesyl‐protein transferase inhibitor 1 is described on a multi‐kilogram scale. Retrosynthetic analysis reveals chloromethylimidazole 2 and a piperazinone 3 as viable precursors. The 1,5‐disubstituted imidazole system was regioselectively assembled via an improved Marckwald imidazole synthesis. A new imidazole dethionation procedure has been developed to convert the Marckwald mercaptoim‐idazole product to the desired imidazole. This methodology was found to be tolerant of a variety of functional groups providing good to excellent yields of 1,5‐disubstituted imidazoles. A new Mitsunobu cycliza‐tion strategy was developed to prepare the arylpiperazinone fragment 3 .     

Synthesis of 1,2,4,5‐Tetrasubstituted Imidazoles Using Sulfuric Acid ([3‐(3‐Silicapropyl)sulfanyl]propyl]ester as a Recyclable Solid Acid

Sulfuric acid ([3‐(3‐silicapropyl)sulfanyl]propyl]ester (SASPSPE) is used as a recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of 1,2,4,5‐tetrasubstituted imidazoles. A range of various polysubstituted imidazoles was synthesized via four‐component condensation of benzil, aldehydes, amines, and ammonium acetate in the presence of SASPSPE under solvent‐free conditions at 140°C. The heterogeneous catalyst was recycled for five runs on the reaction of benzil, 4‐methylbenzaldehyde, benzyl amine, and ammonium acetate without losing its catalytic activity.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Michael Reaction of 5H‐Oxazol‐4‐Ones with α,β‐Unsaturated Acyl Imidazoles

The asymmetric Michael reaction between 5H‐oxazol‐4‐ones and α,β‐unsaturated acyl imidazoles is reported. A novel 2‐benzo[b]thiophenyl‐modified chiral ProPhenol species is synthesized and used as a ligand, leading to good enantioselectivities in this asymmetric conjugate addition reaction. Furthermore, the introduction of phenol additives as achiral co‐ligands is found to improve the reaction’s chemical yields, diastereoselectivities, and enantioselectivities.     

Zwitterionic‐Type Molten Salt‐Catalyzed Multicomponent Reactions: One‐Pot Synthesis of Substituted Imidazoles Under Solvent‐Free Conditions

4‐(1‐Imidazolium) butane sulfonate is an excellent catalyst for the synthesis of 2,4,5‐trisubstituted and 1,2,4,5‐tetrasubstituted imidazoles through the condensation of 1,2‐dicarbonyl compounds, aldehydes, and ammonium acetate or amine via multicomponent condensation strategy under solvent‐free conditions. The key advantages of this process are high yields, reusability of catalyst, environmental friendliness, easy work‐up and purification of products by nonchromatographic methods.     

Preparation of 1‐substituted‐5‐[(2‐oxo‐2‐phenyl)ethyl]imidazoles

New high yield preparation methods were developed for the pharmaceutically interesting compounds, 1‐benzyl‐, 1‐methyl‐, and 1H‐5‐[(2‐oxo‐2‐phenyl)ethyl]imidazoles 1a‐c , respectively. The title compounds were synthesized by four different methods using various starting materials. Two of the methods involved transformation reactions of the key intermediates, 1‐substituted‐5‐[(2‐nitro‐2‐phenyl)ethenyl]imidazoles 2a‐c and 1‐substituted‐5‐[(2‐nitro‐2‐phenyl)ethyl]imidazoles 3a‐c , while the other two utilized the oxidation of 1‐substituted‐5‐[(2‐hydroxy‐2‐phenyl)ethyl]imidazoles 4a‐c , with chromic oxide, and the umpolung reaction of benzaldehyde followed by a condensation reaction of the umpolung intermediate with imidazolecarboxaldehydes 6a‐c.     

Rapid and Facile Access to Indeno[1,2‐d]imidazoles via a Tandem Addition?Cyclization Reaction

A novel and tandem synthesis of highly functionalized tetrahydroindeno[1,2‐d]imidazole is described. A one‐pot reaction between a primary amine, an aryl isothiocyanate, and ninhydrin leads to highly substituted indeno[1,2‐d]imidazoles under solvent‐free conditions in excellent yields (Scheme). Their structures were corroborated spectroscopically (IR, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR, and EI‐MS) and by elemental analyses.     

Transition‐Metal‐Free Synthesis of N‐(1‐Alkenyl)imidazoles by Potassium Phosphate‐Promoted Addition Reaction of Alkynes to Imidazoles

The addition reaction of alkynes to N‐heterocycles by simply heating in DMSO with potassium phosphate is reported. Good yields with high stereoselectivity could be achieved for a range of substrates. The scope is quite general for both amines and phenylacetylenes. In addition, internal alkynes and α‐bromostyrene were also examined in this reaction. This process is efficient and useful for the synthesis of (Z)‐N‐(1‐alkenyl)imidazoles and related Z products. Thus, the reaction is useful because of the importance of the imidazole scaffold.