Synthesis and herbicidal activity of 5-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-2-thioxoimidazolidin-4-one esters.

A series of novel 5-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-2-thioxoimidazolidin-4-one esters were synthesized under mild conditions by the reaction of 5-(4-hydroxybenzyl)-2-thioxoimidazolidin-4-one and carboxylic acids with DCC and DMAP as the promoters. Their structures were confirmed by ¹H-NMR, IR, ESI-MS and elemental analysis. The preliminary bioassy results indicated that some of compounds exhibit good herbicidal activity against Zea mays, Triticum aestivum and Arabidopsis thaliana. The further greenhouse test showed that compounds 6-16 and 6-28 have 60%, 50% and 50% efficacy against Stellaria media, Echinochloa crus-galli and Setaria viridis at 1,000 g/ha, respectively.