Ionic-liquid-supported copper-promoted synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted-1,2,4-triazoles

The synthesis of triazoles plays an important role in drug discovery research. 1,2,4-triazoles are considered significant scaffolds among several bioactive heterocycles due to their extensive use in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical sectors. Consequently, the importance of the synthesis of 1,2,4-triazoles <i>via</i> a sustainable method has increased. Herein, we have utilized an ionic-liquid-supported copper(II) catalyst for the synthesis of 1,2,4-triazoles from benzonitrile derivatives and primary amines under neat conditions both in thermal and microwave heating approaches. Our approach furnished excellent yields of the target moieties (7a-r) in a comparatively short reaction time. This synthetic protocol provides the advantage of synthesizing a couple of C-N bonds and an N-N bond simultaneously from easily accessible amines and nitriles in a simple pathway <i>via</i> a sustainable approach.