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

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. The iron-catalyzed domino decarboxylation-oxidation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids enabled aldehyde C-H methylation for preparing diversified methyl ketones is developed and can be applied to the late-stage modification of complex small molecules.