Recent advances in the synthesis of benzimidazol(on)es via rearrangements of quinoxalin(on)es

Abstract

This is the first review describing all the quinoxaline–benzimidazole rearrangements as a whole and the new quinoxalinone–benzimidazol(on)e rearrangements in particular when exposed to nucleophilic rearrangements for the synthesis of various biheterocyclic motifs. The scope of the rearrangements is illustrated by way of numerous examples of their application, and in doing so, the review contains over 131 references and covers all of the literature, from the first report of the rearrangement of 2,3-diphenylquinoxaline by Ogg and Bergstrom in 1931 up to more recent examples in the past few years. The mechanisms for the selected transformations are also discussed.