An efficient green protocol for the synthesis of 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles in the presence of ZSM-11 zeolite as a reusable catalyst

In this study, we have synthesized a series of ZSM-11 zeolite catalysts using tetrapropyl ammonium hydroxide as a structure-directing agent through a highly efficient hydrothermal method. The series of catalysts were studied by different techniques such as FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, EDS, pyridine-FT-IR spectroscopy, and BET analysis. We focused on varying reaction time intervals from 18 to 48 hours to investigate the effect on catalytic activities of the synthesized series of catalysts. The percentages of aluminum increased in the framework of zeolites with increasing crystallinity, surface area, external surface area, and acidity in the series of ZSM-11 zeolites by increasing the time from 18 to 48 h. Then, we studied the catalytic activity of a series of ZSM-11 zeolites and found that the ZSM-11 zeolite (48 h) possesses higher catalytic activity towards the synthesis of 1,2,4,5-tetrasubstituted imidazoles under solvent-free conditions. The present protocol scored well with excellent yield, short reaction time, clean reaction profiles, low catalyst loading, and no tedious workup. The catalyst (ZSM-11 zeolite 48 h) was recycled and reused in five runs without any considerable loss of activity and product yield.