Used primarily as a specialty intermediate in organic synthesis, particularly in the preparation of fluorinated compounds for pharmaceutical and agrochemical research. Its dual halogen functionality allows for selective reactions—iodine serves as a good leaving group for nucleophilic substitution or cross-coupling reactions, while the fluorine atom imparts metabolic stability and lipophilicity often desired in bioactive molecules. Commonly employed in the development of radiolabeled tracers, especially in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, where it acts as a precursor for introducing fluorine-18 isotopes into target molecules. Also utilized in the synthesis of fluorinated building blocks for materials science applications, including liquid crystals and functional polymers.