A facile three-step procedure has been developed for the synthesis of a-substituted acrylic acids. In the first step, a carboxylic acid having no a-substituents is condensed with 2-amino- 2-methylpropanol (AMP) to form the corresponding oxazoline. The oxazoline reacts readily with paraformaldehyde to give an intermediate mixture of mono-and dimethyl01 derivatives which upon heating forms the a-methylene derivatives of the oxazoline. The latter, upon ...