O-Phenylenediamine → 1H-Benzimidazole-2-acetonitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

Benzimidazole-2-acetonitrile was prepared as follows. A mixture of o-phenylenediamine (1 mole) and ethyl cyanoacetate (2 moles) was refluxed for about 30 hours, cooled, diluted with propyl acetate (225 mL), filtered, washed and dried, to provide benzimidazole-2-acetonitrile in a 60-70% yield. Benzimidazole-2-acetonitrile is also available commercially from Aldrich Chemical Company.

Provenance & Evidence