Novel use of imidazolium ylides in an efficient synthesis of 2-substituted imidazoles

[GRAPHICS] A new reaction of imidazoles was discovered involving the formation of an imidazolium ylide, which on trapping with various electrophiles afforded diverse 2-substituted imidazoles. The facile, convenient reaction conditions when compared to the existing procedures make this reaction the method of choice in the preparation of 2-substituted imidazoles. Moreover, the reaction differs from the reported methods since the products (viz., 1) contain an alpha -substituent that is transformed by solvolysis chemistry into further functionalized derivatives.