ABSTRACT
Water was used as an efficient green solvent for the synthesis of sterically congested 1,3,4-oxadiazoles derivatives via a one-pot, three-component reaction of various aromatic carboxylic acids, acenaphthoquinone, and N-isocyanimino-triphenylphosphorane (Ph3PNNC) at a reaction temperature of 20–26°C for 15 h. The remarkable features of this “green” methodology include high yield of products, water as the solvent, short reaction time, operational simplicity, environmentally benign, and the absence of any volatile or hazardous organic solvents.