Herein, we have developed metal and oxidant-free visible light-promoted alkene vs. alkyne regio- and chemoselective radical cascade cyclization of electronically unbiased 1,6-enynes with chalcogens to synthesize substituted pyrrolidines bearing chalcogens. The reaction generated three new bonds, namely, C–SO₂, C–C, and C–Se under extremely mild conditions. Furthermore, we achieved regio- and chemoselective mono-addition of aromatic thiophenols with unactivated 1,6-enynes. The key features of this protocol are broad substrate scope, environment-friendly conditions, operational simplicity, atom economy, and amenability to gram-scale synthesis. The mechanistic studies corroborate that the reaction proceeds via a radical pathway.

An iodine-promoted regioselective cyclization of N-propynyl/allyl amides with sulfonyl hydrazides has been developed for the synthesis of 5-methyl-arylsulfonyloxazoles and 5-methyl-arylthiooxazolines via sulfonylation and sulfenylation reactions. The notable features of this reaction are the formation of new C–S and C–O bonds, the broad functional group tolerance, and its applicability to alkyl sulfonyl hydrazides as well as internal alkynes.