Electrophilic iodine(I) compounds induced semipinacol rearrangement via C-X bond cleavage.

Neutral electrophilic iodine(I) species proved to be efficient reagents for C-X bond cleavage of various cyclic and acyclic α-silyloxyhalides, and the induced desilylative semipinacol rearrangement provided the corresponding ketones in good yields. The reaction is operationally simple, and proceeds under mild conditions with good functional group compatibility. Mechanistic investigations, including computational studies, were also performed.