We have studied the pressure-induced phase transitions of I2O5 in diamond anvil cells using optical spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. X-ray and Raman data indicate that the linear structure of phase I isostructurally transforms into a stacking layer structure of phase II at 5 GPa and, then, into an amorphous network of phase III at 15 GPa. Phase III further transforms into amorphous solid at 23 GPa, which can be recovered at ambient condition. Anisotropic van der Waals interaction between lone pairs of iodines and neighboring molecules drives to the observed phase change with increasing of iodine coordination number. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.