Nitrogen-centered radicals have attracted increasing attention as a versatile reactive intermediate for diverse C–N bond constructions. Despite the significant advances achieved in this realm, the controllable formation of such species under catalyst-free conditions remains highly challenging. Here, we report a new relay process involving the slow in situ generation of a photoactive N-chloro species via C–N bond formation, which subsequently enables mild and selective access to N-centered radicals under visible light conditions. The utility of this approach is demonstrated by the conversion of aldehydes to amides, employing N-chloro-N-sodio carbamates as a practical amidating source. This synthetic operation obviates the need for catalysts, external oxidants, and coupling reagents that are typically required in related processes, consequently allowing high functional group tolerance and excellent applicability for late-stage functionalization.

以氮为中心的自由基作为各种C–N键结构的通用反应中间体，已引起越来越多的关注。尽管在该领域取得了重大进展，但是在无催化剂条件下可控地形成这类物质仍然是极具挑战性的。在这里，我们报告了一个新的中继过程，该过程涉及通过C–N键的形成缓慢原位生成光敏N-氯离子，随后可在可见光条件下温和而选择性地进入以N为中心的自由基。通过使用N-氯-N将醛转化为酰胺，证明了该方法的实用性。-氨基甲酸酯氨基甲酸酯作为实用的酰胺源。该合成操作消除了对相关工艺中通常需要的催化剂，外部氧化剂和偶联剂的需求，因此允许高官能团耐受性和对于后期官能化的优异适用性。