The dual role of ammonium acetate as reagent and catalyst in the synthesis of 2, 4, 5-triaryl-1H-imidazoles

The new findings concerning synthesis of some 2, 4, 5-triaryl-1H-imidazoles is disclosed in the absence of any catalyst. Results indicated that by enhancing the amount of ammonium acetate, an obvious acceleration can be observed in the reaction progress. It is believed that ammonium acetate should be converted to ammonia and acetic acid during the reaction and the produced acid can catalyze the reaction progress. We believe that the observed efficiency for the previously reported catalytic systems has been mainly due to the presence of high molar ratio of ammonium acetate in the reaction medium and presence of auxiliary catalyst only improved the yield%.