Synthesis and bioactivity evaluation of novel benzamide derivatives containing a diphenyl ether moiety

A series of novel benzamide derivatives with a diphenyl ether moiety were synthesized and evaluated for antifungal and insecticidal activities on the basis of the principle of splicing-up bioactive substructures. Most of the novel benzamide derivatives exhibited moderate to good antifungal activities against five plant pathogen fungi, and compound 17 has shown good antifungal activity against S. ampelimum with EC50 values of 0.95 mg/L and is hoped to be a potential lead compound.