Iodine catalyzed efficient synthesis of symmetrical diaryl sulfoxides from arenes and thionyl chloride under solvent-free conditions

Synthesis of symmetrical diaryl sulfoxides from arenes and thionyl chloride in the presence of a catalytic amount of iodine at room temperature under solvent-free conditions is described. Mild reaction conditions, easy workup, high yield, and easily available catalyst are important features of this method.