Synthesis and characterization of polyamide-imides

A series of thermally stable, tough, linear polyimides containing amide linkages was prepared. The new polyamide-imides were synthesized by reacting a group of isomers of diaminobenzanilide (DABA) with various dianhydrides, such as 4,4′-oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA), 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), and 2,2-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride (6FDA). The resulting polyamide-acids were thermally or chemically converted to the polyamide-imide (PAI). Twelve polyimides were synthesized from unsubstituted and N-methyl substituted amide diamines and their properties were compared with previously made polyamide-imides and the polyimide LARC-TPI. These polyimides exhibited high inherent viscosities and glass transition temperatures. They were made into tough, flexible films of which some showed good thermal stability and resistance to organic solvents. Overall, the mechanical properties of the PAI films were comparable to those of LARC-TPI with the 4,4′-systems exhibiting exceptional properties and crystallinity. These materials have potential as high temperature films, coatings and fibers, as well as molding and laminating resins.     

Synthesis and properties of new aromatic polyimides containing redox‐active anthraquinone moieties

A novel anthraquinone‐containing bis(ether amine) monomer, 2,6‐bis(4‐aminophenoxy)anthraquinone, was synthesized from readily available reagents. A series of novel aromatic polyimides were prepared from the newly synthesized diamine monomer with various aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydrides. The intermediate poly(amic acid)s had inherent viscosities of 0.67–1.12 dL g^?1, and those derived from less stiff dianhydrides could be solution‐cast and thermally cyclodehydrated into flexible and tough polyimide films. The polyimides exhibited glass transition temperatures between 270 and 297 °C, and they were fairly stable up to a temperature of 500 °C in air or nitrogen. The electrochemical and electrochromic properties of one of the polyimides were investigated. The polymer could undergo two reversible steps of electrochemical reduction, with a color change from a colorless neutral state to pink and rose‐red reduced states. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Low-dielectric-constant aromatic homopolyimide and copolyimide derived from pyromellitic dianhydride, 4,4′-oxydianiline, 2,2-bis[4-(4-aminephenoxy)phenyl]propane, 1,4-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene,or 1,3-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene

Low-dielectric-constant aromatics, homopolyimide and copolyimide, were introduced. Homopolyimides were prepared by pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) as an anhydride monomer and 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA), 2,2-bis[4-(4-aminephenoxy)phenyl]propane, 1,4-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene, or 1,3-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene as an amine monomer. The copolyimides were prepared with PMDA as an anhydride monomer, ODA as an amine monomer with the addition of 2,2-bis[4-(4-aminephenoxy)phenyl]propane, 1,4-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene, or 1,3-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene as another amine monomer. The polyimides were well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, thermomechanical analysis, dielectric measurements, and tensile testing. The homopolyimide and copolyimides showed lower dielectric constants than the homopolyimide formed by ODA and PMDA. The results also indicate that the interchain distance, the quantities of phenyl ether, and the position of the substitute are factors that not only affected the thermal performance of polyimide by improving the molecular flexibility but also reduced the dielectric constant of polyimide by increasing the free volume of the molecular chain and decreasing the polarization points per unit volume. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47405.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel fluorinated polyimides derived from bis[4-(4′-aminophenoxy)phenyl]-3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl phosphine oxide

A novel fluorinated aromatic diamine, bis[4-(4′-aminophenoxy)phenyl]-3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl phosphine oxide, was synthesized. A series of new fluorinated polyimides containing phosphine oxide was prepared from the novel diamine with various commercially available aromatic dianhydrides. All the fluorinated polyimides show high glass transition temperatures, excellent thermal stability, and good solubility in common organic solvents.     

Preparation and Properties of Cyano-Containing Polyimide Films Based on 2,6-Bis(4-aminophenoxy)- benzonitrile

Summary A series of cyano-containing polyimides were synthesized from 2,6-bis(4-amino- phenoxy)benzonitrile and some aromatic dianhydride monomers by solution polycondensation. The poly(amic acid) films could be obtained by solution-cast from N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone solutions and thermally converted into tough polyimide films. Structure and physical properties of thin films of those polyimides were measured by FTIR, TGA, dynamic mechanical analysis and LCR hitester et al. Results showed that the polyimides prepared from 2,6-bis(4-aminophenoxy)- benzonitrile and 2,2-bis[4-(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)phenyl]propane dianhydride or 4,4’-(hexafluoropropylidene)diphthalic anhydride exhibited more excellent energy-damping characteristic and excellent solubility in NMP, DMF, DMAc, DMSO, THF and CHCl₃, whereas the polyimides from 2,6-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzonitrile and 3,3’,4,4’-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride or Pyromellitic dianhydride were insoluble in polar and nonpolar organic solvents. All polyimides indicated higher glass transition temperatures, excellent thermal stability and tensile properties. Incorporating a nitrile group into the polyimide backbone would enhance the dielectric constant of the polyimide films.     

Organosoluble, Low-Colored Fluorinated Polyimides Based on 1,1-Bis[4-(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenyl]-1-phenyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethane

A novel trifluoromethyl-substituted bis(ether amine) monomer, 1,1-bis[4-(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenyl]-1-phenyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethane, was synthesized that led to a series of novel fluorinated polyimides via chemical imidization route when reacted with various commercially available aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydrides. These polyimides were highly soluble in a variety of organic solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and N,N -dimethylacetamide, and most of them could afford transparent, low-colored, and tough films. These polyimides exhibited glass-transition temperatures (T _gs) of 227–269 °C and showed no significant decomposition below 500 °C under either nitrogen or air atmosphere. These polyimides had low dielectric constants of 2.87–3.17 at 10 kHz, low water uptake of 0.13%–0.58%, and an ultraviolet-visible absorption cutoff wavelength at 364–410 nm. For a comparative study, a series of analogous polyimides based on 1,1-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]-1-phenyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethane were also prepared and characterized.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel polyimides derived from 1,1-bis[4-(4′-aminophenoxy)phenyl]-1- [3″,5″-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-2,2,2-trifluoroethane

A novel fluorinated aromatic diamine monomer, 1,1-bis[4-(4′-aminophenoxy)phenyl]-1-[3″,5″-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-2,2,2-trifluoroethane(9FTPBA), was synthesized by coupling 3′,5′-bis(trifluoromethyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone with 4-nitrophenyl phenyl ether under the catalysis of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, followed reduced by reductive iron and hydrochloric acid. A series of new fluorine-containing polyimides having inherent viscosities of 0.96-1.23 dl/g was synthesized from the novel diamine with various commercially available aromatic dianhydrides using a standard two-stage process with thermal imidization and chemical imidization of poly(amic acid) films. All the fluorinated polyimides were soluble in many polar organic solvents such as NMP, DMAc, DMF, and m-cresol, as well as some of low boiling point organic solvents such as chloroform and acetone. The polymer films have good thermal stability with the glass transition temperature of 223-225 °C, the temperature at 5% weight loss of 535-568 °C in nitrogen, and have outstanding mechanical properties with the tensile strengths of 68-89 MPa, initial moduli of 2.14-2.19 GPa, and elongations at breakage of 3.2-10.5%.     

Synthesis of a new diamine and its effect on the residual stress of colorless polyimide

A new diamine was designed and synthesized to improve the flexibility of colorless polyimides by reducing residual stress. Four variations of colorless polyimides with the same dianhydride (4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)-diphthalic) and four different diamines (bis[4-(3-aminophenoxy)-phenyl] sulfone, bis(3-aminophenyl) sulfone, 2,2′-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzidine, and 2,2-bis(4-aminophenyl)-hexafluoropropane) were used. A series of colorless polyimides were prepared by adding the new diamine. The carbon and ether bonds between the benzene rings of the new diamine affected the flexibility and optical properties of colorless polyimide. The synthesis of the new diamine was confirmed by NMR measurements. Furthermore, the decrease in residual stress at room temperature and the glass transition temperature was confirmed. The effect of the new diamine was most evident for polyimide with a bulky and rigid structure. Though a slight yellow color appears because of the broken charge transfer complex balance, controlling the content of the new diamine will allow application of polyimides in flexible display.     

Organosoluble and light-colored fluorinated semialicyclic polyimide derived from 1,2,3,4-cyclobutanetetracarboxylic dianhydride

In this study, the alicyclic dianhydrides 1,2,3,4-cyclobutanetetracarboxylic dianhydride (CBDA) was polymerized with seven kinds of fluorinated aromatic diamines, 2,2′-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4,4′-diaminobiphenyl (1), 1,4-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)benzene (2), 1,4-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)diphenyl (3), 1,4-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy) diphenyl ether (4), 2,2-bis[4-(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenyl]hexafluoropropane (5), 4,4′-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)diphenyl sulfone (6), and 2,7-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)naphthalene (7), via a two-step polycondensation procedure to prepare seven kinds of fluorinated semialicyclic polyimides (PI) PI-1 ∼ PI-7. The structures of these polyimides were confirmed by infrared spectroscopy (IR). Solubility of the polyimides was tested in various organic solvents and their thermal properties were investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Ultraviolet-visible spectra (UV-vis) and near infrared absorption spectra (NIR) were obtained to evaluate the optical properties of these polyimides. The obtained polyimides PI-1 ∼ PI-7 displayed excellent solubility in a variety of organic solvents; they were readily soluble in amide-type polar solvent. These polyimide films exhibited good optical transparency in the visible light region (400–700 nm) with the transmittance higher than 80% at 450 nm, and these polyimide films showed little absorption at the optocommunication wavelengths of 1.30 and 1.55 μm. These polyimides showed good thermal stability with the 10% thermal decomposing temperatures higher than 443°C in nitrogen and the glass transition temperatures higher than 265°C. In addition, the effect of the structure of fluorinated diamines on the properties of polyimide films was also compared. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Effect of structure of aromatic diamines on curing characteristics,thermal stability,and mechanical properties of epoxy resins. I

The curing behavior of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) with aromatic diamines having aryl–ether, aryl–ether–carbonyl, and aryl–ether–sulfone linkages was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Aromatic diaminessuch as 1,3-bis(aminophenoxy)benzene (R), 1,4-bis(aminophenoxy)benzene (H),2,2′-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]propane (B), 4,4′-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzo-phenone (P), and bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]sulfone (S) were synthesized and characterized in the laboratory. Curing of DGEBA was done using both stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric amounts of diamines and the reaction was monitored using DSC. The reactivity of the diamines depended on the structure. The presence of electron withdrawing groups, even though significantly apart from the reaction site, reduced the nucleophilicity. No significant change was observed in the activation energy for curing, which was around 56 ± 2 kJ/mol. The glass transition temperature of the epoxy network depended on the structure and was higher when diamines P and S were used in comparison to diamines R, H, and B. The cured resins were stable up to 300°C, and maximum char yield (i.e., 32% at 600°C) was obtained in DGEBA cured with diamine P. The room temperature mechanical properties only changed marginally with the structure of the diamines. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 68: 1759–1766, 1998     

Synthesis and characterization of soluble polyimides and its ultrafiltration membrane performances

Soluble polyimides were synthesized and characterized from two diamines and four dianhydrides by the two- and the one-step method. Most of the polyimides could be soluble by one-step method except α,α′-bis(4-aminophenyl)-1,4-diisopropyl benzene/3,3′,4,4′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride system in limited organic solvents. Glass transition temperatures ranged from 186 to 233°C and crystalline melt temperatures were not observed. All the soluble polyimides showed good thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. The polyimides did not have crystalline structure and limited solubilities. The effective solvent had a medium dispersion component associated with weak polar and hydrogen components. The polymer from one-step polymerization had a narrower molecular weight distribution than the two-step method. Polyimide synthesized with 4,4′-oxydiphthalic anhydride and bis[4-(3-aminophenoxy)phenyl]sulfone by two-step method could only be prepared by the typical phase inversion method. Other membranes except this polyimide membrane could not be prepared by the typical phase-inversion method because of poor solubility about polar solvents. The flux of this ultrafiltration membrane was very high, and this membrane could especially retain polymer having a molecular weight 20,000 to above 90%. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 907–918, 1999     

以BAPP为原料的热塑性PI薄膜的合成及性能

以芳香长链二胺2,2-双[4-(4-氨基苯氧基)苯基]丙烷(BAPP)为二胺原料,与最具商业价值的四种酸酐均苯四甲酸二酐(PMDA)、3,3′,4,4′-联苯四酸二酐(BPDA)、3,3′,4,4′-二苯酮四酸二酐(BTDA)、3,3′,4．4′-二苯醚四酸二酐(ODPA)为二酸酐原料,采用二步溶液缩聚法制得了一系列均聚和共聚聚酰亚胺薄膜。利用FTIR表征了聚酰亚胺的结构,并用DSC、TOA、TMA DMA等手段测得了不同聚酰亚胺的Tg、5%与10%热失重温度、线膨胀系数、拉伸强度、断裂延伸率、热压粘接T型剥离强度等性能数据。     

Synthesis and thermal,mechanical and gas permeation properties of aromatic polyimides containing different linkage groups

Two series of aromatic polyimides containing various linkage groups based on 2,7‐bis(4‐aminophenoxy)naphthalene or 3,3′‐dimethyl‐4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane and different aromatic dianhydrides, namely 4,4′‐(4,4′‐isopropylidenediphenoxy)bis(phthalic anhydride), 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)bis(phthalic anhydride), 3,3′,4,4′ benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride, 9,9‐bis[4‐(3,4‐dicarboxyphenoxy)phenyl]fluorene dianhydride and 4,4′‐(4,4′‐hexafluoroisopropylidenediphenoxy)bis(phthalic anhydride), were synthesized and compared with regard to their thermal, mechanical and gas permeation properties. All these polymers showed high thermal stability with initial decomposition temperature in the range 475–525 °C and glass transition temperature between 208 and 286 °C. Also, the polymer films presented good mechanical characteristics with tensile strength in the range 60–91 MPa and storage modulus in the range 1700–2375 MPa. The macromolecular chain packing induced by dianhydride and diamine segments was investigated by examining gas permeation through the polymer films. The relationships between chain mobility and interchain distance and the obtained values for gas permeability are discussed. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and characterization of polyimides and co-polyimides having pendant benzoic acid moiety

A novel diamine monomer, 2,4-diamino-4′-carboxy diphenyl ether had been synthesized. Several polyimides were prepared by reacting this diamine with commercially available dianhydrides, such as benzophenone tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (BTDA), 4,4′-bis{hexafluoroisopropylidene bis (phthalic anhydride)}(6-FDA), oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA) and 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (BPDA). Furthermore, copolymers from the resulting diamine and oxydianiline (ODA) with 6 FDA were also synthesized. The inherent viscosities of the polymers were 0.42-0.67 dl g⁻¹. The polymers have good solubility in polar aprotic solvents, high thermal stability up to 410 °C in nitrogen and high glass transition temperatures (T_g) ranging from 260-330 °C. These polymers formed tough flexible films by solution casting.     

Carbon fibre reinforced epoxy composites

Carbon fibre reinforced epoxy composites were fabricated from the matrix resin diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A and novel tetrafunctional epoxy resins N,N,N′,N′-tetraglycidyl-2,2-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]propane and N,N,N′N′-tetraglycidyl-1,1 ′-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]cyclohexane using diaminodiphenyl methane as curing agent. Mechanical properties and chemical resistance of the composites were determined. Significant improvements in the mechanical properties were observed by adding epoxy fortifier to the resin-curing agent mixtures before fabrication of composites.     

Resistive switching characteristics of polyimides derived from 2,2′‐aryl substituents tetracarboxylic dianhydrides

2,2′‐Position aryl‐substituted tetracarboxylic dianhydrides including 2,2′‐bis(biphenyl)‐4,4′,5,5′‐biphenyl tetracarboxylic dianhydride and 2,2′‐bis[4‐(naphthalen‐1‐yl)phenyl)]‐4,4′,5,5′‐biphenyl tetracarboxylic dianhydride were synthesized. A new series of aromatic polyimides (PIs) were synthesized via a two‐step procedure from 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyl tetracarboxylic dianhydride and the newly synthesized tetracarboxylic dianhydrides monomers reacting with 2,2′‐bis[4′‐(3″,4″,5″‐trifluorophenyl)phenyl]‐4,4′‐biphenyl diamine. The resulting polymers exhibited excellent organosolubility and thermal properties associated with T_g at 264 °C and high initial thermal decomposition temperatures (T_5%) exceeding 500 °C in argon. Moreover, the fabricated sandwich structured memory devices of Al/PI‐a/ITO was determined to present a flash‐type memory behaviour, while Al/PI‐b/ITO and Al/PI‐c/ITO exhibited write‐once read‐many‐times memory capability with different threshold voltages. In addition, Al/polymer/ITO devices showed high stability under a constant stress or continuous read pulse voltage of ? 1.0 V. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation and properties of melt‐processable polyimides based on fluorinated aromatic diamines and aromatic dianhydrides

Two series of melt‐processable polyimides were prepared from 4,4′‐bis(3‐amino‐5‐trifluoromethylphenoxy)biphenyl (m‐6FBAB) and 4,4′‐bis(4‐amino‐5‐trifluoromethylphenoxy) biphenyl (p‐6FBAB) with various aromatic dianhydrides. The effects of the chemical structures of the polyimides on their properties, especially the melt processability and organic solubility, were investigated. The experimental results demonstrate that some of the fluorinated aromatic polyimides showed good melt processability at elevated temperatures (250–360°C) with relatively low melt viscosities and could be melt‐molded to produce strong and tough polyimide sheets. Meanwhile, the polyimides showed excellent organic solubility in both polar aprotic solvents and common solvents to give stable polyimide solutions with high polymer concentrations and relatively low viscosities. Thus, we prepared high‐quality polyimide films by casting the polyimide solutions on glass plates followed by baking at relatively low temperatures. The polyimides derived from m‐6FBAB showed better melt processability and solubility than the p‐6FBAB based polymers. The melt‐processable polyimides showed a good combination of thermal stability and mechanical properties, with decomposition temperatures of 547–597°C, glass‐transition temperatures in the range 205–264°C, tensile strengths of 81.3–104.9 MPa, and elongations at break as high as 19.6%. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Adhesion property of novel polyimides containing fluorine and phosphine oxide moieties

Novel diamine monomers containing fluorine and phosphine oxide - bis(3-aminophenyl)-3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl phosphine oxide (mDA6FPPO) and bis(3-aminophenyl)-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl phosphine oxide (mDAFPPO) - were utilized to prepare polyimides with dianhydrides such as 6FDA, BTDA or ODPA by the conventional two-step route, i.e. preparation of poly(amic acid) followed by solution imidization. The polyimides were characterized by FT-IR, NMR, DSC, and intrinsic viscosity measurements. The adhesion property of the polyimides was evaluated via a peel test with bare Cu foil, as well as silane/Cr-coated Cu foil, and failure surfaces were analyzed by SEM/EDX to elucidate the failure mechanism. The results were compared with those from the polyimides prepared from bis(3-aminophenyl)phenyl phosphine oxide (mDAPPO) containing only the phosphine oxide moiety, 1,1-bis(4-aminophenyl)-1-phenyl-2,2-trifluoroethane (3FDAm) containing only the fluorine moiety, and a commercial 3,3′-diaminodiphenylsulfone (mDDS). The polyimides with 3FDAm exhibited the highest T _g, followed by the mDAPPO-, mDA3FPPO-, and mDA6FPPO-based polyimides, but the mDAPPO-based polyimides exhibited the highest adhesion properties, followed by mDA3FPPO, mDA6FPPO, mDDS, and 3FDAm, which is attributed to the phosphine oxide and fluorine moieties.     

Synthesis and properties of organosoluble polyimides derived from 2,2′‐dibromo‐ and 2,2′,6,6′‐tetrabromo‐4,4′‐oxydianilines

Two new aromatic diamines, 2,2′‐dibromo‐4,4′‐oxydianiline (DB‐ODA 4 ) and 2,2′,6,6′‐tetrabromo‐4,4′‐oxydianiline (TB‐ODA 5 ), have been synthesized by oxidation, bromination, and reduction of 4,4′‐oxydianiline (4,4′‐ODA). Novel polyimides 6a–f and 7a–f were prepared by reacting DB‐ODA ( 4 ) and TB‐ODA ( 5 ) with several dianhydrides by one‐step method, respectively. The inherent viscosities of these polyimides ranged from 0.31 to 0.99 dL/g (0.5 g/dL, in NMP at 30°C). These polyimides showed enhanced solubilities compared to those derived from 4,4′‐oxydianiline and corresponding dianhydrides. Especially, polyimides 7a , derived from rigid PMDA and TB‐ODA ( 5 ) can also be soluble in THF, DMF, DMAc, DMSO, and NMP. These polyimides also exhibited good thermal stability. Their glass transition temperatures measured by thermal mechanical analysis (TMA) ranged from 251 to 328°C. When the same dianhydrides were used, polyimides 7 containing four bromide substituents had higher glass transition temperatures than polyimides 6 containing two bromide substituents. The effects of incorporating more polarizable bromides on the refractive indices of polyimides were also investigated. The average refractive indices (n_av) measured at 633 nm were from 1.6088 to 1.7072, and the in‐plane/out‐of‐plane birefringences (Δn) were from 0.0098 to 0.0445. It was found that the refractive indices are slightly higher when polyimides contain more bromides. However, this effect is not very obvious. It might be due to loose chain packing resulted from bromide substituents at the 2,2′ and 2,2′,6,6′ positions of the oxydiphenylene moieties. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Comparative study on polyimides from 3,3′-and 4,4′-linked diphthalic anhydride

1,4-Bis(2,3-dicarboxyphenoxy)benzene dianhydride, 1,4-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)benzene dianhydride, bis(2,3-dicarboxyphenoxy)sulfide dianhydride, bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)sulfide dianhydride, and 2,3,3′,4′-tetracarboxy diphenyl sulfide dianhydride were synthesized from 3-chlorophthalic anhydride and 4-chlorophthalic anhydride. Bis(2,3-dicarboxyphenyl)sulfone and bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)sulfone were obtained by the oxidation of the corresponding bis(dicarboxyphenyl)sulfide by hydrogen peroxide. The polyimides from the dianhydrides mentioned above and 4,4′-oxydianiline were prepared. The properties, such as dynamic mechanical behavior, thermooxidative stability, stress-strain behavior, chemical resistance, and permeability to some gases have been in investigated for the isomeric polyimides. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.