Intramolecular electro-oxidative addition of enamines or amides to nonactivated alkynes was attained to access carbonyl-pyrroles or -oxazoles from N-propargyl derivatives. Organoselenium was employed as the electrocatalyst, which played a crucial role as a π-Lewis acid and selectively activated the alkyne for the successful nucleophilic addition. The synthetic strategy permits a wide range of substrate scope up to 93% yield. Several mechanistic experiments, including the isolation of a seleniumincorporated intermediate adduct, enlighten the electrocatalytic pathway.

An electro-oxidative method for the ring opening of imidazopyridine derivatives is reported. This mild protocol offers a sustainable alternative to the existing harsh reaction conditions and unleashes an efficient approach to produce N-(pyridin-2-yl)amide derivatives with good tolerance of different functional groups. Systematic mechanistic studies provided insight into the reaction pathway and revealed that the residual water of DMSO is the source of oxygen atoms in the products.