Iron-catalyzed decarboxylative methylation of α,β-unsaturated acids under ligand-free conditions

It is the first time to find that iron-catalyzed decarboxylative methylation of α,β-unsaturated acids could be performed in the absence of any ligands. During the reaction, the configuration of the double bond could be retained. It is noteworthy that di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP) was employed not only as the oxidant, but also as the methyl source.