Polyvalent iodine in organic chemistry.

Tricoordinate, I(III), and pentacoordinate, I(V), polyvalent iodine compounds have been known for over a century. In the last twenty years, new polyvalent iodine reagents have been introduced along with synthetic methodologies, based on these and derived reagents, that play an ever increasing role in contemporary organic chemistry. In this Perspective, an overview of these developments is provided with emphasis on the chemistry and uses of aryl-, alkenyl-, and alkynyliodonium salts in preparative and synthetic organic chemistry. It is hoped that this brief overview, along with recent more comprehensive reviews of the field, will stimulate further developments and applications of this useful class of compounds across a broad spectrum of organic chemistry.