To a three-necked flask equipped with a magnetic stir bar was added 4′-iodo-2-nitrobiphenyl (3.90 g, 12.0 mmol, 1.2 equiv), 1-methyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole (1.32 g, 10.0 mmol, 1.0 equiv), Ag2CO3 (5.52 g, 20.0 mmol, 2.0 eq), Pd(dppf)Cl2.CH2Cl2 (0.41 g, 0.5 mmol, 0.05 eq) and PPh3 (0.26 g, 1.0 mmol, 0.1 eq). The tube was evacuated and back-filled with nitrogen, and this evacuation/back-fill procedure was repeated twice. Then solvent CH3CN (60 mL) was added under the protection of nitrogen. The mixture was stirred in an oil bath at a temperature of 60-70° C. for 6.5 days and then cooled. The solid was filtered off through a pad of celite, and washed with ethyl acetate. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and the residue was purified through column chromatography on silica gel using hexane and ethyl acetate (10:1-5:1-3:1-2:1) as an eluent to afford the desired product, 1-methyl-2-(2′-nitrobiphenyl-4-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole, as a white solid (1.36 g in 41% yield). 1H NMR (DMSO-d6, 400 MHz): δ 3.95 (s, 3H), 7.25-7.29 (m, 1H), 7.31-7035 (m, 1H), 7.57 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 2H), 7.65-7.72 (m, 4H), 7.84 (td, J=7.6, 1.2 Hz, 1H), 7.98 (d, J=7.6 Hz, 2H), 8.06-8.08 (m, 1H).
