light-mediated facile synthesis of heteroarenes, namely, isoquinolines, benzothiazoles, and quinazolines, is demonstrated by employing isocyanides and inexpensive acyl peroxides. It is shown for the first time that singlet-excited isocyanides decompose acyl peroxides into aryl/alkyl radicals. The latter attack isocyanides, yielding imidoyl radicals that subsequently cyclize to afford heteroarene products. The
strategy for multi-substituted isoquinoline derivatives has been developed using visible light-promoted vinylisocyanideinsertion with diaryliodonium salts at room temperature. The methodology presented here represents the first example of isoquinoline synthesis via somophilicisocyanideinsertion.