It dissolves in water to form maleic acid (44.1% at 25 C) Solubility (g per 100 g solvent at 25 C) in acetone – 227, benzene – 50, toluene – 23.4, ortoloksilole – 19 4, kerosene (boiling temperature of 190-210 C) – 0.25, chloroform – 52.5, CCl4 – 0.6, ethyl acetate – 112, dioxane – 182. Maleic anhydride is very reactive. When interacting with monohydric alcohols forms a mono-and diesters with glycols – unsaturated polyesters. Comes in Diels-Alder reaction with conjugated dienes, forming cyclic adducts. When attached to the double bond of H2O or H2 is converted to malic or anhydrides respectively succinic acid, H2O2 accession – in tartaric acid, NH3 or aliphatic amines – in aspartic acid or N-alkyl-substituted. With alkylbenzene reacts to form anhydrides arilalkilyantarnyh acids. Similarly, the maleic anhydride reacts with conjugated unsaturated compounds containing methyl or methylene groups at the double bond.
Copolymerization of maleic anhydride with vinyl compounds and olefins leads to a saturated linear polymers. Maleic anhydride is readily hydrolyzed to maleic acid, which in the presence of thiourea or other catalysts easily isomerized to fumaric acid. Industrial methods for producing maleic anhydride 1) vapor-phase catalytic oxidation of benzene air over a stationary oxide catalyst vanadiymolibdenovym 2) vapor-phase oxidation of n-butane over a fixed or fluidized catalyst vanadiyfosfornym oxide. This method is economically benzene is preferable. In both methods of maleic anhydride from reaction gases emit in the liquid and solid state and in the form of maleic acid, which is subjected to dehydration, carried out in the heat film-type devices or by azeotropic distillation with o-xylene.