Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO, E.C. 1.3.3.4) is the action target for several structurally diverse herbicides. A series of novel 4-(difluoromethyl)-1- (6-halo-2-substituted-benzothiazol-5-yl)-3-methyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5(4H)-ones 2a-z were designed and synthesized via the ring-closure of two ortho-substituents. The in vitro bioassay results indicated that the 26 newly synthesized compounds exhibited good PPO inhibition effects with Ki values ranging from 0.06 to 17.79 μM. Compound 2e, ethyl 2-{[5-(4- (difluoromethyl)-3-methyl-5-oxo-4,5-dihydr...