Ten compounds of 2-aryloxymethylbenzimidazole were synthesized by the reaction of o-phenylenediamine with aryloxyacetic acids using a melting method, and structurally characterized by IR and 1H NMR techniques. In this method, the molar ratio of raw materials is n(o-phenylendiamine)∶n(aryloxyacetic acid)＝1∶1.1, and the temperature of the reaction is (180±5) ℃. This method has the advantages of simple operation, short reaction time, easy purification, less by-products, moderate to high yields and green synthe-sis.

Key words: 2-aryloxymethylbenzimidazole, melting, synthesis, characterization