Iron-catalyzed domino decarboxylation-oxidation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids enabled aldehyde C–H methylation

Abstract

A practical and general iron-catalyzed domino decarboxylation-oxidation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids enabling aldehyde C–H methylation for the synthesis of methyl ketones has been developed. This mild, operationally simple method uses ambient air as the sole oxidant and tolerates sensitive functional groups for the late-stage functionalization of complex natural-product-derived and polyfunctionalized molecules.