A new method for the tunable synthesis of 1,4-enedione directly from aromatic methyl ketone is described. This tandem reaction enables the construction of symmetric and unsymmetric 1,4-enediones with complete E-selectivity. Moreover, the resulting E-1,4-enedione could be transformed into a Z-isomer by irradiation with 23 W of white light.

An efficient NH 4 I-mediated intermolecular annulation of methyl N-heteroaromatics with amines/amino acids was developed by virtue of anodic oxidation, providing a variety of functionalized imidazo-fused N-heterocycles with good to excellent yields. The practicality of this protocol was demonstrated by the readily available starting materials, broad substrate scope, water tolerance, scalability, and the diverse transformations of the electrolysis product.

A difunctionalization of alkynes cascade reaction was developed to generate α-sulfonylethanone oximes in environmentally benign EtOH/H2O.

An NH4I-mediated tandem electrosynthesis of 1,3-disubstituted imidazo­[1,5-a]­quinolines was developed from readily available starting materials in aqueous medium, affording a variety of 1,3-disubstituted imidazo­[1,5-a]­quinolines with good to excellent yields.