The Chemistry of Iodine Azide

Whereas chlorine azide and, to a lesser extent, bromine azide have long been used as preparative reagents in spite of their explosive nature, little is known about the properties of iodine azide although it was actually discovered before the other two compounds. Hantzsch's warning to beware fo this material, uttered in 1900, still seems to be widely observed. Only recently has iodine azide been isolated as a pure substance, thus promoting its more detailed investigation. Proper use of this highly labile reagent opens up new vistas in synthetic chemistry.