Primary aliphatic carboxylic acids were treated with N-iodosuccinimide (NIS) in 1,2-dichloroethane to form the corresponding alkyl iodides under warming conditions. Based on these results, those aliphatic carboxylic acids were treated with NIS, followed by the reaction with K₂CO₃ to give the corresponding N-alkylsuccinimides in good yields in one pot. Moreover, those aliphatic carboxylic acids were treated with N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) and NaI, followed by the reaction with K₂CO₃ to provide the corresponding N-alkylsuccinimides in good to moderate yields in one pot. By using the present method, successive treatment of primary aliphatic carboxylic acids (10 mmol) with NIS, K₂CO₃, and then hydrazine provided the corresponding decarboxylated primary amines in good yield.

Electron-rich arenes bearing methyl or methoxy groups on the aromatic ring were treated with dichloromethyl methyl ether and ZnBr₂, and then with molecular iodine and aq. ammonia to give the corresponding aromatic nitriles in good yields. Using this method, febuxostat was efficiently prepared from 4-bromophenol in four steps. The method can be used for the preparation of aromatic nitriles from arenes in one pot under metal-cyanide-free conditions.

Electron-deficient nitrogen-containing heteroaromatics, such as quinoline, isoquinoline, and pyridine, were treated with benzoyl peroxide in dioxane, tetrahydropyran, tetrahydrofuran, diethyl ether, and dipropyl ether at 80 °C to form alkylated nitrogen-containing heteroaromatics in good yields under transition-metal-free conditions. This method was successfully applied to the preparation of lariat aza-crown ethers using 18-crown-6 or 15-crown-5 with quinoline and isoquinoline in the presence of benzoyl peroxide in good yields under irradiation conditions with a Hg lamp.

On the basis of studies of the transformation of benzylic bromides into the corresponding aromatic aldehydes by treatment with N-methylmorpholine N-oxide, various methylarenes were treated either with DBDMH in the presence of AIBN in acetonitrile at reflux (Method A) or with NBS in CCl₄ under irradiation with a tungsten lamp at 30 °C (Method B), followed by treatment with N-methylmorpholine N-oxide to provide aromatic aldehydes in good yields. These methods could be adopted in one-pot transformations of methylarenes into aromatic aldehydes under conditions free of less toxic reagents and transition metals.

Various benzylic and aliphatic alcohols were smoothly oxidized to the corresponding aromatic aldehydes and ketones as well as aliphatic ketones by treatment with 1-acetoxy-5-nitro-1,2-benziodoxole-3(1H)-one (ANBX), 1-acetoxy-5-bromo-1,2-benziodoxole-3(1H)-one (ABBX), 1-acetoxy-5-chloro-1,2-benziodoxole-3(1H)-one (ACBX), and 1-acetoxy-5-fluoro-1,2-benziodoxole-3(1H)-one (AFBX). These new trivalent iodine compounds were prepared from 5-substituted 2-iodobenzoic acids and meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (m-CPBA). ANBX and ABBX were the most effective reagents for this oxidation of alcohols, and this present reaction is very attractive because of the ease of product isolation and the reusability of the reagents.

Various methylarenes were transformed into the corresponding aromatic nitriles in good to moderate yields by the treatment with aq. HBr and aq. H₂O₂, followed by reaction with molecular iodine and aq. ammonia in a one-pot procedure. The present reaction is a useful, practical, transition-metal-free, and organic-reagent-free method for the preparation of aromatic nitriles from methylarenes.

The treatment of phenols with paraformaldehyde in the presence of MgCl₂ and Et₃N in THF at 80 °C, followed by reaction with molecular iodine and aq. ammonia at room temperature provided the corresponding o-cyanophenols in moderate to good yields. The present reaction is a one-pot transformation of phenols into o-cyanophenols using much less expensive reagents than are typically used; the reaction is free of both transition-metals and cyanide. The utility of this reaction was highlighted during our preparation of Febuxostat from p-bromophenol.

A variety of aryl bromides have been treated with Mg and then chloral, followed by tBuOCl and subsequently alcohols or amines to produce the corresponding aromatic esters or amides in good yields via the formation of aryl trichloromethyl ketones as intermediates. These reactions are examples of a transition-metal-free one-pot preparation of aromatic esters and amides from aryl bromides.

A variety of aromatic and aliphatic carboxylic acids were smoothly converted into the corresponding nitriles in good yields in a one-pot procedure by treatment with ethyl iodide/K₂CO₃/18-crown-6, followed by sodium diisobutyl-tert-butoxyaluminium hydride (SDBBA-H), and finally treatment with molecular iodine or 1,3-diiodo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DIH), and aqueous ammonia. This method is useful for the conversion of various aromatic and aliphatic carboxylic acids into the corresponding nitriles in a one-pot procedure.