Benzoimidazolyl\nOrganoseleniums: Antioxidant Activity\nand Catalysts for Selective Iodination of Arenes and Nitro-Michael\nReaction

Here, the synthesis and catalytic activities of benzoimidazole-derived\norganoselenium compounds have been explored. The synthesized bis(2-benzoimidazolyl)\ndiselenide, having increased Lewis acidity on the selenium center,\noutperforms simple phenyl and <i>N</i>-phenyl benzamide-based\ndiselenides when compared for thiol peroxidase hydrogen peroxide decomposing\nantioxidant activity with a reduction rate of 18.6 ± 1.9 μM/s.\nThe synthesized diselenide also acted as an efficient catalyst for\nthe activation of <i>N</i>-iodo-succinimide toward the regioselective,\nmonoiodination of electron-rich arenes and activation of nitro-alkene\nfor nitro-Michael reactions for the first time.