Visible light promoted metal and oxidant-free stereoselective synthesis of functionalized succinimides from aza-1,6-enynes†

An operationally simple approach has been developed for synthesizing diversely functionalized succinimides under transition-metal and oxidant-free conditions in PEG-400. The developed strategy is promoted by visible light and proceeds via radical cascade iodo-sulfonylation of aza-1,6-enynes in an atom atom-economical manner with excellent stereoselectivity. Control experiments well support the proposed pathway for the reaction. The reaction's expedient features include operational simplicity, eco-friendly solvent, atom economy, and functional group tolerance with a broad substrate scope.