I2/DMSO-mediated oxidative C-C and C-heteroatom bond formation: a sustainable approach to chemical synthesis

The I2/DMSO pair has emerged as a versatile, efficient, practical, and eco-friendly catalyst system, playing a significant role as a mild oxidative system, and thus employed as a good alternative to metal catalysts in synthetic chemistry. Presently, I2/DMSO is a thriving catalytic system that is used in preparing C-C and C-X (X = O/S/N/Se/Cl/Br) bonds, resulting in the formation of various bioactive molecules. Many processes utilize this system, including in situ glyoxal synthesis by diverse sp, sp2, and sp3 functionalities via iodination and subsequent Kornblum oxidation. Focusing on oxidation processes, this study examines the synergistic effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and molecular iodine in improving synthetic techniques. We provide a comprehensive overview of the research progress on the I2/DMSO catalytic system for the formation of C-C and C-heteroatom bonds from 2018 to the present. Additionally, the future prospects of this research field are discussed.

Recent Advances of Green Catalytic System I2/DMSO in C–C and C–Heteroatom Bonds Formation

Developing a green, practical and efficient method for the formation of C–C and C–Heteroatom bonds is an important topic in modern organic synthetic chemistry. In recent years, the I2/DMSO catalytic system has attracted wide attention because of its green, high efficiency, atomic economy, low cost, mild reaction conditions and it is environment-friendly, which is more in line with the requirements of sustainable chemistry. Heteroatom-containing compounds have shown lots of important applications in pharmaceutical synthesis, agrochemicals, material chemistry and organic dyes. At present, the I2/DMSO catalytic system has been successfully applied to the synthesis of various heteroatom-containing compounds. The C–C and C–Heteroatom bonds have been formed efficiently, which has been proved to be a green and mild catalytic system. In this review, the research achievements of the I2/DMSO catalytic system in the formation of C–C and C–Heteroatom bonds from 2015 to date are described, and the research area is prospected. This review attempts to reveal the general law of iodine catalysis and lay a foundation for the design of new reactions.