Denitrative iodination of nitroarenes with hydroiodic acid

We herein present an efficient denitrative iodination method of (hetero)nitroarenes mediated by commercially available and cost-effective hydroiodic acid (HI). During the reaction process, HI plays its dual roles as both the sustainable reductant of nitro group and iodine source in the iodination step, which successfully integrates three steps into a one-pot procedure and significantly simplifies the reaction system. This approach enables a smooth metal-free conversion of nitroarenes to corresponding aryl iodides via one-pot process, exhibits a broad substrate scope and good reaction efficiency, and was conveniently applied in the concise synthesis of pharmaceuticals.