Facile synthesis of a rare example of an iron(III) iodide complex, [FeI 3 (AsMe 3 ) 2 ], from the reaction of Me 3 AsI 2 with unactivated iron powder

The reaction of Me3AsI2 with iron powder leads to the formation of the iron(III) arsine complex [FeI3(AsMe3)2]. The complex is a rare example of a neutral FeI3 complex, inaccesible via traditional synthetic routes due to the low stability of the parent halide. The complex is a rare example of a “hard” iron(III) centre coordinating “soft” tertiary arsine ligands.