The imidization of N-substituted rnaleamic acids in the presence of a dehydrating agent, such as acetic anhydride, to yield the N-substituted maleimides is a well-known classic reaction'. However, the reaction requires a large excess of acetic anhydride as both reagent and solvent and sodium acetate as a base, and is limited only to aryl substituents. In the case of primary alkyl groups, low to moderate yields (15- 60%) of N-alkyl maleimides were obtainedZ3. For ...
