Alkyl- or arylthiolation of aryl iodide via cleavage of the S-S bond of disulfide compound by nickel catalyst and zinc.

Various aryl sulfides can be synthesized by nickel-catalyzed alkyl- or arylthiolation of aryl iodide with a disulfide compound. This reaction produces Ni(0) from NiBr2-bpy by the reduction with zinc, and this generated complex works as an activating species to convert ArI into ArSR under neutral conditions. Furthermore, this system enables the use of two RS groups in (RS)2. Copyright 2004 American Chemical Society