Synthetic Applications of Hypervalent Iodine(III) Reagents Enabled by Visible Light Photoredox Catalysis

Recent advances in the development of environmentally friendly reagents and catalytic systems are discussed. Hypervalent iodine(III) reagents are generally considered to be environmentally friendly, due to their oxidizing properties (comparable with those of heavy metals), in combination with relatively high stability and easy availability. In addition, visible-light photoredox catalysis has been emerging as one of the most rapidly growing fields in organic chemistry. Under visible-light irradiation, photoredox catalysis typically provides reactive radical species under remarkably mild, environmentally friendly and sustainable conditions. Recently, many groups have utilized visible-light-absorbing photoredox catalysts to sensitize hypervalent iodine(III) reagents. In this review we summarize recent applications of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents in visible-light photoredox catalysis.