Reaction center in the oxidation of amino derivatives of 2-phenylbenzimidazole in dimethylformamide

The electrochemical oxidation of amino derivatives of 2-phenylbenzimidazole on a rotating platinum disk with a ring in neutral and acidic dimethylformamide was investigated. It is shown that the investigated compounds are oxidized in two electrochemical steps that include reversible one-electron processes, as a consequence of which the potentials have thermodynamic significance and can serve as a measure of the relative reactivities of these compounds in the oxidation reaction. The imidazole ring undergoes oxidation in acidic media (HClO₄) because of protonation of the amino groups, whereas the amino group is the reaction center in neutral DMF.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 516–518, April, 1978.