ZnCl2-Catalyzed [3 + 2] Cycloaddition of Benzimidates and 2 H-Azirines for the Synthesis of Imidazoles.

ZnCl2-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of benzimidates and 2 H-azirines has been developed. This convenient method allowed the efficient construction of a series of multisubstituted imidazoles in moderate to good yields under mild reaction conditions. This transformation exhibits good reactivity and high functional group tolerance.