Iodine(III)-mediated synthesis of
4-iodo-N-phenylaniline
from iodobenzene has been achieved, and the reaction can proceed under
mild conditions. A variety of functional groups were well tolerated,
providing the corresponding products in moderate to good yields. The
remaining iodine group provides an effective platform for converting
the products into several valuable asymmetric diphenylamines. Most
importantly, this reaction can be easily scaled up to the ten-gram
scale, highlighting its synthetic utility. The mechanistic study revealed
that the in situ generated aryl hypervalent iodine intermediate is
the key factor to realize this para-selective C–H
amination reaction.