Organoiodine Compound - Industrial Applications

Industrial Applications

Few organoiodine compounds are important industrially, at least in terms of large scale production. Iodide containing intermediates are common in organic synthesis, because of the easy formation and cleavage of the C–I bond. Industrially significant organoiodine compounds, often used as disinfectants or pesticides, are iodoform (CHI₃), methylene iodide (CH₂I₂), and methyl iodide (CH₃I). Although methyl iodide is not an industrially important product, it is an important intermediate, being a transiently generated intermediate in the industrial production of acetic acid and acetic anhydride.

Polyiodoorganic compounds are sometimes employed as X-ray contrast agents, in fluoroscopy, a type of medical imaging. This application exploits the X-ray absorbing ability of the heavy iodine nucleus. A variety of agents are available commercially, many are derivatives of 1,3,5-triiodobenzene and contain about 50% by weight iodine. For most applications, the agent must be highly soluble in water and, of course, non-toxic and readily excreted. A representative reagent is Ioversol (Figure to right), which has water-solubilizing diol substituents. Typical applications include urography and angiography.