Syntheses of 2-(2-arylethyl)imidazoles

Condensation of 2-methylimidazole with arylaldehyde 4 and subsequent reduction of the intermediate 5 with Raney-nickel gave 2-[2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)ethyl]imidazole 2 . Compound 11 was prepared from compound 10 similarly. Reaction of compound 2 with methylsulfonyl chloride gave 1-methylsulfonyl-2-[2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)ethyl]imidazole ( 7a ) in moderate yield. Nitration of compound 11 (Ar = 3-pyridyl) gave the desired nitro compounds 14 and 15 .