Aluminium chloride catalyzed one-pot synthesis of 2-aryl substituted benzimidazoles and their antibacterial activity

2-aryl substituted benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized by using various aromatic aldehydes contains electron releasing as well as electron withdrawing groups, o-phenylenediamine and aluminium chloride as a catalyst via one-pot reaction by use of water as ecological solvent. This route provides an ecological, uncomplicated develops and give compounds in high yield. The synthesized 2-aryl substituted benzimidazole derivatives were characterized by physical (molecular weight, molecular formula, melting point, recrystallization, Rf value) and spectral data (IR and (1)H-NMR). All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in-vitro antibacterial activity against few gram-positive and few gram-negative microorganisms. Keywords: o-Phenylenediamine, Aluminium chloride, Aromatic aldehydes, 2-Aryl substituted benzimidazole derivatives, Antibacterial activity