Synthesis and Reactivity of Vinyl Iodonium Salts

Abstract

In Dr. Zhdankin’s research lab, one of our main focuses is on the chemistry of iodine. Iodine is the largest nonradioactive nonmetal on the planet and it is environmentally friendly, commercially available and safe to work with. It is also has a special ability to exceed its octet of electrons and become hypervalent due to its large size. This ability to become hypervalent is typically only exhibited by transition metals which are commonly used in many different chemical reactions to make pharmaceuticals, agriculture chemicals, and many other useful products. Transition metals, however, tend to be expensive, environmentally toxic and can be unsafe to work with in a lab setting due to their toxic properties. Therefore, it would be useful to find an alternative to transition metals to synthesize these useful products; this is where iodine comes in. Since it is able to exhibit the same hypervalent property as transition metals, it offers an advantage since it is nontoxic and cheap. It is for this reason that research on hypervalent iodine compounds is so important for medicine, agriculture, and our overall understanding of chemistry.