Aerobic oxidation of imidazolines to 2-arylimidazoles using CuSO4∙H2O as a catalyst

Imidazoles are considered the merit heterocyclic moiety in medicinal chemistry and drug design. Here, we report the convenient method for the aerobic oxidation of imidazolines under mild conditions using cheap and available CuSO4 ·5H2O as the catalyst. The proposed method allows to prepare 2-arylimidazoles bearing electron-donating and withdrawing groups in good and quantitative yields. The developed procedure is applicable for the preparation of labile and oxidation-intolerant heterocyclic moieties.