15 ml of freshly distilled tetrahydrofuran, 340 mg (2.1 mmol) of 4-trifluoromethylphenol and 550 mg (2.1 mmol) of triphenylphosphine are added under nitrogen to 708 g (2 mmol) of 1-triphenylmethyl-4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1H-imidazole. The resulting mixture is cooled and stirred for 5 min. 66 mg (2.1 mmol) of diethyl azodicarboxylate in 10 ml of tetrahydrofuran are then slowly added. Stirring is continued at room temperature for 2 hours under nitrogen. The solvent is then evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue is chromatographed on a column of silica gel, using diethyl ether as the eluent, to give 1-triphenylmethyl-4-[2-(4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)ethyl]-1H-imidazole.
