Efficient synthesis of 1-R1-2-R-4,5-di(furan-2-yl)-1H-imidazoles and their luminescence properties

In this study, a series of 1-R1-2-R-4,5-di(furan-2-yl)-1H-imidazole derivatives were synthesized in better yield 59.0%∼89.8% by the treatment of purified imidazole compounds with benzyl chloride or allyl chloride in the presence of sodium hydride, and were characterized by FT–IR, HRMS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Furthermore, the luminescence properties of the synthesized products were investigated. It was found that N-substituted groups of imidazole have little influence on the absorption bands in a 0.1 N H2SO4 aqueous solution containing 0.5 mL of dissolved CH3OH. However, the emission of some compounds in solution was sensitive to the polarity of the solvents.