The idea of ‘‘green’’ solvents expresses the goal to minimize the environmental impact resulting from the use of solvents in chemical production. Finding environmentally benign green-solvents is a top priority of the organic chemist. Use of no-solvent, i.e. solvent-free reactions is another solution, however, this may work for only a few reactions as in general, a lack of reaction medium may lead to overheating of the reaction mixture, yielding a mixture of by-products. Biphasic technologies, using fluorous and ionic liquids along with aqueous systems and supercritical carbon dioxide, have formed the main thrust of a movement. Ionic liquids are good solvents as they have negligible vapor pressure and will thus not evaporate into environment. However, the cost and toxicity of ionic liquids are big concerns in using them as a solvent.
Thus, the last option remains is naturally abundant water as a solvent.

So, Is water the green solvent and the best alternative for organic solvents?