Photoinduced α-Alkenylation of Katritzky Salts: Synthesis of β,γ-Unsaturated Esters

β,γ-Unsaturated esters are building blocks in biologically important compounds, pharmaceuticals, and natural products. Because the current synthetic methods often require transition-metal catalysts or lack general variants, we herein describe a simple NaI-involved photoinduced deaminative alkenylation for their synthesis in the absence of photocatalysts and additives. The density functional theory study unveils that the electrostatic interaction of NaI with Katritzky salts is the key to forming the photoactive electron donor–acceptor complex, thus leading to the alkyl radicals for the alkenylation.