Photo-induced Metal-Catalyst-Free Aromatic Finkelstein Reaction

The facile iodination of aromatic compounds under mild conditions is a great challenge for both organic and medicinal chemistry. Particularly, the synthesis of functionalized aryl iodides by light has long been considered impossible due to their photo-lability, which actually makes aryl iodides popular starting materials in many photo-substitution reactions. Herein, a photo-induced halogen exchange in aryl or vinyl halides has been discovered for the first time. A broad scope of aryl iodides can be prepared in high yields at room temperature under exceptionally mild conditions without any metal or photo-redox catalysts. The presence of a catalytic amount of elemental iodine could promote the reaction significantly.