Green chemistry approach for the synthesis of 2,4,5-triaryl-1H-imidazole derivatives using lemon juice as a bio-catalyst

Abstract

The use of green chemistry is crucial for organic synthesis to protect the environment from hazardous and toxic substances. Lemon juice is a promising candidate for a green chemistry catalyst because it is widely available, inexpensive, biodegradable, and non-toxic. This study reports a simple and highly effective one-pot synthesis of 2,4,5-triaryl-1H-imidazole derivatives 4(a-l) using lemon juice as a biocatalyst. The method involves a three-component condensation reaction of benzil, aromatic aldehydes, and ammonium acetate in ethanol using lemon juice as a catalyst, and offers several benefits such as short reaction time, easy work-up, low-cost catalyst, and good yields. Additionally, in silico prediction of ADME properties suggests that the synthesized compounds 4(a-l) have the potential to exhibit favourable oral drug-like properties.