Organo-selenium mediated regio- and stereoselective iodoselenylation of alkynes in an aqueous medium: simple access to (E)-β-iodoalkenyl selenides.

A method for the simple and efficient iodoselenylation of simple alkynes under mild conditions using commercially available molecular iodine (I2) and diorganoyldiselenides as starting materials has been developed. A broad range of alkynes can be employed to afford (E)-β-iodoalkenyl selenides in good to excellent yields and with high regio- and stereoselectivity without the need for any protecting groups.