Multicomponent Synthesis of Trisubstituted Imidazoles

Significance

Reported is the four-component synthesis of trisubstituted imidazoles involving the reaction of benzaldehydes, 2-bromoacetophenones, primary amines, and ammonium acetate. The reaction uses no added solvents and proceeds efficiently in short reaction times. A number of potential mechanisms are possible, one of which is shown by the authors. This example mechanism effectively demonstrates one of the main advantages of multicomponent reactions; the formation and use of reactive intermediates that would not usually be possible to access or isolate.

Book: M. R. Grimmett, In Science of Synthesis, Vol. 12; R. Neier, Ed.; Georg Thieme Verlag: ­Stuttgart, New York, 2002, 325-528.