A variety of styrenes and phenylacetylenes serve as excellent arylcarboxy sources in bringing about substrate directed o-benzoxylation of 2-phenylpyridine derivatives catalyzed by Cu(II) in the presence of TBHP. This reaction proceeds via formation of phenylglyoxal followed by decarbonylation to benzoyl radical/benzaldehyde which acts as the arylcarboxy source.

An efficient metal free protocol has been developed for the synthesis of benzylic esters via a cross dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) involving alkylbenzene(s) as a self- or as a cross-coupling partner(s) via the intermediacy of Ar-COOH and the benzylic carbocation obtained from the other half of the alkylbenzene; both symmetrical as well as unsymmetrical esters can be prepared using Bu4NI and TBHP.

Intermolecular C-N bond formations via cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) of aryl ethers and tetrazoles have been developed under a metal-free condition. In the presence of catalytic amount of tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI) and aqueous TBHP, aryl ethers coupled efficiently with tetrazoles to afford hemiaminal ethers. This strategy showed high level of regioselectivity for substrates possessing multiple sp(3) C-H bonds adjacent to the ethereal oxygen.

An efficient metal free oxidative esterification of sp(3) C-H bonds (adjacent to an oxygen atom) in simple solvents like 1,4-dioxane, tetrahydropyran, tetrahydrofuran and ethyl acetate has been achieved using terminal aryl alkenes and alkynes as the ArCOO(-) sources.

An environmentally benign synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted 1,3,4-oxadiazoles has been developed starting from N-aroylhydrazones and N-acetylhydrazones at room or ambient temperature using a catalytic quantity of iodine in the presence of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide oxidant.