Ammonium metavanadate: A novel catalyst for synthesis of 2-substituted benzimidazole derivatives

Ammonium metavanadate (10 mol%) was found to be a useful catalyst for the synthesis of various 2-substituted aryl benzimidazoles. It was used as an oxidizing agent for the condensation of o-phenylenediamine with different substituted aryl aldehydes at room temperature in ethanol. The method was proved to be simple, convenient and the product was isolated with good yields (79–91%).