An efficient and one-pot synthesis of benzimidazoles, benzoxazoles, benzothiazoles and quinoxalines catalyzed via nano-solid acid catalysts

•Synthesis of benzimidazoles, benzoxazoles, benzothiazoles and quinoxalinesis achieved.•Short reaction times and milder conditions and easy work-up are advantages.•The catalysts can be recovered and reused without any appreciable loss of efficiency.

A simple highly versatile and efficient synthesis of benzimidazoles, benzoxazoles, benzothiazoles, and quinoxalinesis achieved from carbonyl compounds and o-substituted aminoaromatics using nano-sulfated zirconia, nano-structured ZnO, nano-γ-alumina and nano-ZSM-5 zeolites, as the catalyst. The characteristic structural features of the materials were determined by techniques, such as XRD, FT-IR and SEM. The advantages of method are short reaction times and milder conditions and easy work-up. The catalysts can be recovered for the subsequent reactions and reused without any appreciable loss of efficiency.

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