Summary It is shown that fluorene-9'-spiro-2-(3-phenyl-2 H-azirine)(1) on treatment with various alcohols in the presence of the corresponding alkoxide ions yields N-(9'-fluoreny1) benzimidates 2a-d (Scheme I). 2, 2, 3-Triphenyl-2H-azirine (3) reacts with methanol in a similar manner (Scheme 2). Benzimidates 2a (Scheme 3), 8 (Scheme 4) and and 10 (Scheme 5) can easily be deprotonated by butyllithium (BuLi) or lithium diisopropylamide ( ...