Synthesis and characterization of acetic acid and ethanoic acid (based)-maleimide

A new route to the synthesis of maleimide is described. 2-(2,5-dioxo-2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)acetic acid maleimide (1) and 2-(4-(2,5-Dioxo-2,5-dihydro- 1H-pyrrol-1-yl)phenyl)ethanoic acid maleimide (2) have been synthesized by the reaction of maleic anhydride with glycine and 4-aminophenyl acetic aicd. Maleimide (1) was synthesized by conventional technique while maleimide (2) was synthesized by microwave method. The compounds were characterized using FT-Infrared (FT-IR), 1H and 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopies and Mass Spectrometry.