多聚氮杂环化合物在有机合成、药物化学以及材料化学等领域具有重要的作用.人们已经在多聚氮杂环的修饰和可控转换领域取得了诸多突破性的研究成果.在多种多聚氮杂环转换反应中,脱氮是一类重要反应,可以快速地构建其他氮杂环或者C?N键.通常而言,多聚氮杂环化合物更易于脱氮形成金属卡宾中间体,继而发生后续串联或环化反应,但涉及自由基中间体的多聚氮杂环脱氮反应尚未得到充分关注和研究.在过去几年中,得益于现代合成手段如有机光化学合成、有机电化学合成和有机光电合成等的革新,自由基化学得到快速发展,建立了很多多聚杂环脱氮自由基串联反应,为高度复杂的杂环骨架或具有复杂杂环体系的天然产物提供了一条通用且便捷的合成路径.光催化剂在有效地将可见光中的能量转移至非吸收化合物方面的应用越来越受到关注,该方法可温和而有效地生成自由基,以新的方式形成化学键.此外,啉钴与卟啉铁催化剂在多聚杂环的脱氮反应中亦展现出较好的催化性能.本文综述了多聚氮杂环的脱氮自由基转化(C?N键的构建)领域的最新进展,重点讨论了脱氮生成自由基的方法与串联模式和反应机理,分析了存在的挑战.本文还根据反应底物的类别从四个模块展开讨论:(1)苯并三嗪和苯并噻三嗪的自由基脱氮串联反应;(2)苯并三氮唑的自由基脱氮串联反应;(3)吡啶三氮唑与四氮唑的脱氮反应;(4)3-氨基吲唑的自由基脱氮反应.综上,研究者们通过多聚氮杂环的脱氮自由基转化(C?N键的构建)的方法合成了一些重要的药物分子及其前体,并证明了该方法具有潜在的应用价值.未来,将多聚氮杂环脱氮反应应用于活性天然产物合成与修饰是非常可行的.“,”Polynitrogen heterocycles are readily available and have recently arisen as versatile synthons for the formation of various C–C and C–X bonds, and medicinally active nitrogen-containing heterocy-cles. Several cascade reactions, including annulation, radical cascade, and borylation reactions, have been reported in which polynitrogen heterocycles are applied as arylation reagents. The success of these exceptional reactions illustrates the great synthetic potential of polynitrogen heterocycles, which provides a direct and useful approach to arylation reactions and the synthesis of nitro-gen-containing heterocycles. The use of photocatalysts to effectively transfer energy from visible light to non-absorbing compounds has gained increasing attention as this method allows for the mild and efficient generation of radicals in a controlled manner. This approach has thus led to new methods that involve unique bond formation reactions. In addition, the use of free radical interme-diates stabilized by transition metal catalysts is a powerful way to construct new chemical bonds. The aim of this review is to highlight the rapidly expanding area of radical-initiated denitrogenative cascade reactions of polynitrogen heterocycles and elaborate on their mechanisms from a new perspective by using photocatalysis and metal-based catalysis.