A facile synthesis of 3-trifluoromethyl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles from cyanamides

A safe and facile method for the formation of 3-trifluoromethyl-5-amino-1,2,4-oxadiazoles, via a reversed addition of hydroxylamine to cyanamides, is reported. This two-pot procedure is suitable to scale-up and avoids the hazards associated with trifluoromethyl amidoxime synthesis. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.