Nanoporous aluminosilicate catalyst with 3D cage-type porous structure as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of benzimidazole derivatives

Herein we demonstrate for the first time, the synthesis of benzimidazoles through the coupling of aldehydes with o-phenylenediamine by using highly acidic nanoporous aluminosilicate with 3D structure and cage-type pores as the catalyst. The catalyst resulted in excellent yields in short reaction times presumably due to its high acidity, large pore diameter, high surface area, and cage-type 3D porous structure. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.