A facile one-pot synthesis of tetrasubstituted imidazoles catalyzed by eutectic mixture stabilized ferrofluid

A robust and simple one-pot four component reaction for the efficient synthesis of tetrasubstituted imidazoles has been developed. In the presence of eutectic mixture stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles, the four-component reaction of aldehydes, amines, ammonium acetate, and 1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-dione proceeds smoothly at 60 degrees C to give a range of imidazole derivatives in moderate to good yields. Target compounds were obtained in high yields and high purity after recrystallization from ethanol. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.