N-Methylmaleimide

108-31-6

593-51-1

930-88-1

GENERAL METHOD: Methylamine hydrochloride (19.1 g, 0.30 mol) was added to a solution of acetic acid (40 mL) containing maleic anhydride (20 g, 0.20 mol) and potassium acetate (30.0 g, 0.30 mol) and stirred thoroughly. The mixture was heated to reflux temperature (110 °C) and the reaction was maintained for 4 hours. Upon completion of the reaction, the reaction mixture was cooled to 25-30 °C. Subsequently, the reaction mixture was slowly poured into pre-cooled sodium bicarbonate solution (100 mL) and extracted with diethyl ether (3 x 70 mL). The organic layers were combined, washed with brine solution and dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solvent was removed by distillation under reduced pressure to give N-methylmaleimide (6.89 g, 30% yield).