Design, synthesis, and biological activities of novel 2-cyanoacrylates containing oxazole, oxadiazole, or quinoline moieties.

A series of novel 2-cyanoacrylates containing an oxazole, oxadiazole, or quinoline moiety were designed and synthesized, and their structures were characterized by (1)H NMR and elemental analysis (or high-resolution mass spectrometry). Their herbicidal activities against four weeds were evaluated, and the result indicated that some of the title compounds showed excellent herbicidal activities against rape and amaranth pigweed in postemergence treatment at a dose of 375 g/ha. Furthermore, most of these cyanoacrylates exhibited interesting plant growth regulatory activities.