The condensation of 5-chloro-2-nitroaniline (I) with imidazole (II) by means of KOH in DMSO gives 5-(1-imidazolyl)-2-nitroaniline (III). Hydrogenation of (III) over Pd/C in 1N HCl gives the diamine (IV), which is condensed with oxalic acid (V) in 4N HCl yielding 6-(1-imidazolyl)quinoxaline-2,3(1H,4H)-dione hydrochloride (VI). Finally, this compound is nitrated with HNO3/H2SO4.