One-pot synthesis of multisubstituted imidazoles catalyzed by Dendrimer-PWAn nanoparticles under solvent-free conditions and ultrasonic irradiation

An efficient, green and eco-friendly protocol has been developed for the synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted and 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles via one-pot condensation reaction using Dendrimer-PWA(n) as catalyst under solvent-free conditions or ultrasonic irradiation in excellent yields. The reactions under conventional heating conditions were compared with the ultrasonic-assisted reactions. The operational simplicity, practicability and applicability of this protocol to various substrates make it an interesting alternative to previous procedures. The present methodology offers several advantages such as excellent yields, short reaction times, a cleaner reaction, and the absence of any tedious work-up or purification. The catalyst is easily separated from the products by filtration and also exhibits remarkable reusable activity. SEM, BET and DLS of the catalyst were also investigated after each reaction cycle.