A two-step synthesis of diaminofurazan and synthesis of N-monoarylmethyl and N,N′-diarylmethyl derivatives

Diaminofurazan (1) was synthesized from glyoxal (2) by an improved two-step procedure. The N-mono-arylmethyl derivatives 4a-e and N-N'-diarylmethyl derivatives 5a-e of 1 were prepared in good yields by reductive alkylation with the corresponding aryl aldehydes.