Copper-doped silica cuprous sulfate: A highly efficient heterogeneous nano-catalyst for one-pot three-component synthesis of 1-H-2-substituted benzimidazoles from 2-bromoanilines, aldehydes, and [bmim]N3

A facile and highly efficient one-pot three-component synthesis of 1-H-2-substituted benzimidazole derivatives from readily available substrates catalyzed by copper-doped silica cuprous sulfate (CDSCS) is described. In this method, treatment of diverse 2-bromoanilines, aldehydes, and [bmim]N3 in DMF at 110 °C in the presence of CDSCS as a highly efficient heterogeneous nano-catalyst affords the corresponding 1-H-2-substituted benzimidazoles in good to excellent yields. The CDSCS is an inexpensive and stable nano-catalyst that could be simply prepared, recovered and reused for many consecutive reaction runs without significant loss of its activity.