A general and metal-free visible-light-induced decarboxylative arylation procedure at room temperature was described for the construction of acylated heterocyclic derivatives, such as benzimidazo/indolo­[2,1-a]­isoquinolin-6­(5H)-ones, aroylazaspiro[4.5]­trienones, thioflavones, and so on. This practical arylation procedure was conducted by using 2,4,5,6-tetra­(9H-carbazol-9-yl)­isophthalonitrile (4CzIPN) as a photocatalyst under mild conditions, which avoided the use of an additional base, traditional heating, and metal reagents.

N-Hydroxyphthalimide (NHP) esters are easily available, stable, inexpensive, and highly photoactive compounds, which are derived from the corresponding carboxylic acids. In recent years, the application of NHP esters in photocatalytic decarboxylative reactions has captured huge attention. Herein, the vigorous development of photocatalytic alkylation reactions using alkyl NHP esters as alkylating reagents is summarized based on the classification of photocatalysts.

In the present study, the effect of imidacloprid uptake from contaminated soils on the growth of leaf vegetable Shanghaiqing was investigated. The result showed that during 35-day exposure, the concentration of imidacloprid (IMI) was in the order of vegetable shoots > vegetable roots > soil, indicating that IMI was more readily concentrated in vegetable shoots than in roots. Moreover, the biomass of IMI-treated vegetable shoots was comparable to that of the controls with early exposure, but was higher than that of the controls after 7-day exposure, showing that the test concentration of IMI could stimulate vegetable growth. The plant metabolic analysis of vegetable shoots using LC-QTOF/MS revealed that IMI may cause oxidative stress to the plant shoots with early exposure; however, the stressful situation of IMI seems to be relieved with the increase of some substances (such as spermidine and phenylalanine) with late exposure. Moreover, the upregulation of N-rich amino acids (glutamine, aspartate, and arginine) suggested that the process of fixing inorganic nitrogen in the plant should be enhanced, possibly contributing to enhanced growth rates. Additionally, four IMI's metabolites were identified by using MS-FINDER software, and the distribution of three metabolites in vegetable tissues was compared.

A visible-light-induced decarboxylation reaction was developed for the synthesis of alkylated benzimidazo[2,1a]isoquinoline-6(5H)-ones and indolo[2,1-a]isoquinolin-6(5H)-ones under metal-free conditions. Impressively, metal catalysts and traditionally volatile organic solvents could be effectively avoided.

The Ce(III)-photocatalyzed synthesis of amides from carboxylic acids and aryl isocyanates was developed. The reaction includes the formation of alkyl radicals from carboxylic acids followed by radical addition to the electron-deficient carbon of isocyanate.