One-pot synthesis of tri- and tetra-substituted imidazoles using sodium dihydrogen phosphate under solvent-free conditions

Sodium dihydrogen phosphate (NaH2PO4) efficiently catalyzes the condensation reaction of benzil, aldehydes, amines and ammonium acetate in a four-component reaction under solvent-free conditions. The reaction proceeds rapidly and affords the corresponding tetra-substituted imidazoles in high yields. Also an efficient route was developed for the synthesis of tri-substituted imidazoles from condensation of benzil, aldehydes and ammonium acetate using NaH2PO4.