TiCl3-silica: A recyclable solid support for efficient synthesis of substituted imidazoles

In this research study, a library of highly substituted imidazoles were efficiently synthesized from benzil/benzoin, aldehydes and ammonium acetate via multicomponent solvent free one pot protocol on TiCl3-silica solid catalyst. The general applicability of the solid support was assessed by the synthesis of wide varieties of imidazole derivatives. TiCl3-silica solid catalyst was recycled, reused and found no loss of catalytic activity up to fifth consecutive reaction runs.