-
A Greener Route to Benzimidazoles: Ligand-Free Copper Catalysis Hits 98% Yield
Benzimidazoles show up everywhere in modern medicine. Look at blood pressure drugs like telmisartan and candesartan. Look at antiparasitic meds like albendazole and thiabendazole. Even common heartburn treatments like esomeprazole. They all share this same core structure. The benzimidazole ring is one of those scaffolds the pharmaceutical industry genuinely depends on. The catch? Making them has never been particularly clean or cheap. The traditional routes lean on strong acids, high temperatures, and expensive reagents. Some methods require nitro groups that have to be installed and then removed. Others need precious metal catalysts or bulky ligands that inflate costs and generate a lot of waste. It works, but its the kind…


