Visible-Light-Promoted Synthesis of Benzimidazoles: Visible-Light-Promoted Synthesis of Benzimidazoles

A simple and environmentally-friendly synthetic method for benzimidazoles, which are important structural motifs in many applications owing to their various biological functions, has been developed. The reaction of o-phenylenediamine and a variety of aliphatic/aromatic aldehydes in methanol proceeds at room temperature with only natural sources, molecular oxygen and visible light.