Metal-Free Iodine-Catalyzed Direct Arylthiation of Substituted Anilines with Thiols

Iodine-catalyzed direct arylthiation of substituted anilines for the synthesis of various diaryl sulfides has been developed under metal- and solvent-free conditions. The present method uses readily available thiols as the arylthiation reagents, and environmentally friendly and inexpensive I-2 as the catalyst. Importantly, no base or ligand was necessary. Such a simple, efficient, and economical transformation provides an attractive approach to various diaryl sulfides in good to excellent yields.