A practical and green approach toward synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles without adding catalyst

A simple, efficient, and inexpensive procedure has been developed for the synthesis of 2,4,5-triaryl imidazoles by a three-component, one-pot condensation of benzyl, aldehydes, and ammonium acetate in refluxing ethanol without adding catalyst. The "catalyzed-by-itself" approach shows a new direction in green synthesis of the title products.