KIO-catalyzed selective oxidation of thiols to disulfides in water under ambient conditions.

Herein, we report a KIO-catalyzed oxidative coupling of thiols to their corresponding disulfides in water, in a short time and at ambient temperature. The reaction has a broad scope and exhibits good functional group tolerance, resulting in the desired products in excellent yields. This approach allows the reuse of the reaction system in multiple cycles and scale-up. Furthermore, the current protocol demonstrates compatibility for generation of disulfides and post application in C(sp)-H bond sulfenylation.