Crosslinkable polymeric compounds

A polymer, which can be crosslinked under the action of electromagnetic waves, having a molecular weight between 1000 and 1,000,000 as measured by viscometry of a 2% by weight solution in cyclohexanone or of a 0.5% by weight solution in N,N-dimethylformamide, which is characterized by a structural formula comprising a multiplicity of molecular chain members selected from the group consisting of ##STR66## in which MI denotes the maleimido group of formula I ##STR67## wherein R and R.sub.1 independently of one another denote alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or R and R.sub.1 conjointly denote the remaining part of a five-membered to six-membered carbocyclic ring, Y.sub.2 denotes an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, carbocyclicaromatic, araliphatic, heterocyclic-aliphatic or hetero-cyclicaromatic radical containing, in each case, a total of at most up to 18 carbon atoms, and in which Y.sub.1 has the same definition as Y.sub.2 or represents the grouping ##STR68## Y.sub.3 has the same definition as Y.sub.2 or represents the grouping ##STR69## Y.sub.4 has the same definition as Y.sub.2 or represents the grouping ##STR70## Y.sub.5 has the same definition as Y.sub.2 or represents the grouping

• --CO--Y.sub.2
• Y.sub.6 has the same definition as Y.sub.2, and Y.sub.7 has the same definition as Y.sub.2, R.sub.3 denotes hydrogen or alkyl with 1 to 6 carbon atoms, R.sub.4 denotes hydrogen or alkyl, R.sub.5, R.sub.6 and R.sub.7 independently of one another denote hydrogen, halogen, cyano, alkyl, aryl or aralkyl, and R.sub.8 denotes hydrogen, carboxyl or --COO(CH.sub.2).sub.z CH.sub.3 (z = 0 to 18).