A mild, scalable iodine-mediated oxidative cross-coupling reaction of arylhydrazines and thiols for construction of thioethers (sulfides) in the absence of any transition metals or photocatalysts is disclosed. A variety of unsymmetrical diaryl sulfides with broad substrate scope both on thiols and hydrazines were synthesized in high yields in water at room temperature. Furthermore, to demonstrate the utility of the protocol, the above C–S bond formation was applied in the synthesis of the key structure of vortioxetine as an antidepressant drug. The gram-scale outcome also added to the potential utility of this protocol.
