Copper-catalyzed coupling of amides and carbamates with vinyl halides

[reaction: see text] A general and efficient copper-catalyzed method for the amidation of vinyl bromides and iodides has been developed. This protocol uses a combination of 5 mol % copper iodide and 20 mol % N,N'-dimethyl ethylenediamine. Substrates bearing ester, silyl ether, and amino groups were successfully coupled under the reaction conditions. The double bond geometry of the vinyl halides was retained under the reaction conditions.