Developing a green, practical and efficient method for the formation of C–C and C–Heteroatom bonds is an important topic in modern organic synthetic chemistry. In recent years, the I₂/DMSO catalytic system has attracted wide attention because of its green, high efficiency, atomic economy, low cost, mild reaction conditions and it is environment-friendly, which is more in line with the requirements of sustainable chemistry. Heteroatom-containing compounds have shown lots of important applications in pharmaceutical synthesis, agrochemicals, material chemistry and organic dyes. At present, the I₂/DMSO catalytic system has been successfully applied to the synthesis of various heteroatom-containing compounds. The C–C and C–Heteroatom bonds have been formed efficiently, which has been proved to be a green and mild catalytic system. In this review, the research achievements of the I₂/DMSO catalytic system in the formation of C–C and C–Heteroatom bonds from 2015 to date are described, and the research area is prospected. This review attempts to reveal the general law of iodine catalysis and lay a foundation for the design of new reactions.

Chiral drugs hold a significant position within the contemporary pharmaceutical market, and the chiral catalysts play a crucial role in their synthesis.

C₂₇H₂₄N₄O₂ monoclinic, P2₁/c (no. 14), a = 5.8073(2) Å, b = 31.2564(9) Å, c = 24.8105(8) Å, β = 90.13°, V = 4503.5(2) ų, Z = 8, R _gt(F) = 0.0644, wR _ref(F ²) = 0.1854, T = 150(2) K.

C38H58N10O6S4, monoclinic, P2(1) (no. 4), alpha =11.9542(5) angstrom, b = 11.4057(5) angstrom, c = 17.2763(8) angstrom, beta = 96.380(1)degrees V = 2340.97(18) angstrom(3) , Z = 4, R-gt(F) = 0.0325, wR(ref)(F-2) = 0.0836, T = 200 K.