Synthesis of Ni@C as a Magnetic Heterogeneous Catalyst: Application to Benzimidazoles and Quinoxalines fromo‐Phenylenediamines with Primary Amines

Abstract Herein, we report a simple and straightforward magnetic heterogeneous catalytic (Ni@C) approach to synthesize benzimidazole and quinoxaline scaffolds from o ‐phenylene diamines with primary amines using H 2 O as an environmentally benign solvent. The Ni@C catalyst was synthesized using a pyrolysis method and unambiguously analyzed by various characterization techniques. The scope of the catalytic methodology was presented with various o ‐phenylene diamines and primary amines producing a range of benzimidazoles and quinoxalines in good to excellent yields. The notable feature include reusability of the Ni@C catalyst (up to five cycles), synthetic applications to functionalize −NH proton of 1 H ‐benzimidazole and the gram‐scale synthesis which could be a potential industrial application.