Protecting group free, stereocontrolled synthesis of β-halo-enamides

Enamides, dienamides, and enynamides are important building blocks in synthetic, biological, and medicinal chemistry as well as materials science. Despite the extensive breath of their potential utility in synthetic chemistry, there is a lack of simple, high-yielding methods to deliver them efficiently and as single isomers. In this paper, we present a novel, protecting group free, efficient, and stereoselective approach to the generation of β-halo-enamides. The methodology presented provides a robust synthetic platform from which E- or Z-enamides can be generated in good yields and with complete stereocontrol.