Reactive intermediates, namely radicals and organometallics, can be formed by reduction of an organic substrate with an electron-donor. Metals in low oxidation states frequently perform this role. An aspiration in our research is to develop powerful neutral organic reducing agents to perform electron transfer reactions.

The first reductions of aryl and alkyl iodides by a neutral ground-state organic molecule have been described via radical pathway. Dimer 1 {Single Electron Transfer (S.E.T.) reagent} was successfully used for radical cylization reaction (scheme 1).