1-benzyl-3-methylpyrrole-2,5-dione

Conditions: temp:0.00; pressure:0.00; stir:; See reaction.notes.procedure_details.

Procedure: 120.6 g (0.6 mol) of N-benzylcitraconimide and 65.2 g (0.6 mol) of benzylamine are heated to reflux in 600 ml of tetrahydrofuran for 16 hours. The solvent is then distilled off, and the residue is chromatographed on silica gel using ethyl acetate-petrol ether 1:1. This gives 76.2 g of an oil, which is 93% strength after analysis by gas chromatography (yield 38% of theory). The solvent is then distilled off the residue is chromatographed on silica gel