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     

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     

Synthesis and characterization of organosoluble polyfluorinated polyimides derived from 3,3′,5,5′‐tetrafluoro‐4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane and various aromatic dianhydrides

A polyfluorinated aromatic diamine, 3,3′, 5,5′‐tetrafluoro‐4,4′‐diaminodiphenylmethane (TFDAM), was synthesized and characterized. A series of polyimides, PI‐1–PI‐4, were prepared by reacting the diamine with four aromatic dianhydrides via a one‐step high‐temperature polycondensation procedure. The obtained polyimide resin had moderate inherent viscosity (0.56–0.68 dL/g) and excellent solubility in common organic solvents. The polyimide films exhibited good thermal stability, with an initial thermal decomposition temperature of 555°C–621°C, a 10% weight loss temperature of 560°C–636°C, and a glass‐transition temperature of 280°C–326°C. Flexible and tough polyimide films showed good tensile properties, with tensile strength of 121–138 MPa, elongation at break of 9%–12%, and tensile modulus of 2.2–2.9 GPa. The polyimide films were good dielectric materials, and surface and volume resistance were on the order of a magnitude of 10¹⁴ and 10¹⁵ Ω cm, respectively. The dielectric constant of the films was below 3.0 at 1 MHz. The polyfluorinated films showed good transparency in the visible‐light region, with a cutoff wavelength as low as 302 nm and transmittance higher than 70% at 450 nm. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1442–1449, 2007     

Synthesis and characterization of novel soluble pyridine‐containing polyimides based on 4‐phenyl‐2,6‐bis[4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]‐pyridine and various aromatic dianhydrides

A new kind of pyridine‐containing aromatic diamine monomer, 4‐phenyl‐2,6‐bis[4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]‐pyridine (PAPP), was successfully synthesized by a modified chichibabin reaction of benzaldehyde and a substituted acetophenone, 4‐(4‐nitrophenoxy)‐acetophenone (NPAP), followed by a reduction of the resulting dinitro compound 4‐phenyl‐2,6‐bis[4‐(4‐nitrophenoxy)phenyl]‐pyridine (PNPP) with Pd/C and hydrazine monohydrate. The aromatic diamine was employed to synthesize a series of new pyridine‐containing polyimides by polycondensation with various aromatic dianhydrides in N‐methy‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP) via the conventional two‐step method, i.e., ring‐opening polycondensation forming the poly (amic acid)s and further thermal or chemical imidization forming polyimides. The inherent viscosities of the resulting polyimides were in the range of 0.79–1.13 dL/g, and most of them were soluble in common organic solvents such as N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), NMP, and tetrahydrofuran (THF), etc. Meanwhile, strong and flexible polyimide films were obtained, which had good thermal stability, with the glass transition temperatures (T_g) of 268–338°C and the temperature at 5% weight loss of 521–548°C in air atmosphere, as well as outstanding mechanical properties with tensile strengths of 89.2–112.1 MPa and elongations at break of 9.5–15.4%. The polyimides also were found to possess low dielectric constants ranging from 2.53 to 3.11. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 212–219, 2007     

Novel phenylethynyl‐endcapped polyimide oligomers: Synthesis and characterization

A series of novel phenylethynyl‐endcapped polyimide oligomers were prepared by polycondensation of an aromatic diamine mixture of 1,3‐bis(4‐aminophenoxy) benzene (1,3,4‐APB) and 3,4′‐oxydianiline (3,4′‐ODA) with different aromatic dianhydrides including 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), 4,4′‐(hexafluoro isopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA), 4,4′‐oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA), and 4,4′‐[2,2,2‐trifluoro‐1‐(3′,5′‐bis‐(trifluoro‐methyl)phenyl)ethylidene]diphthalic anhydride (9FDA) in the presence of 4‐phenyl‐ethynylaniline (PEA) as endcapping agent in aprotic solvent at elevated temperature. The chemical structures, thermal behavior, and melt rheological properties of the synthesized polyimide oligomers were investigated. Experimental results indicated that the fluorinated polyimide oligomers derived from 6FDA (PI‐2) and 9FDA (PI‐4) are amorphous solid resins and exhibited lower melt viscosities than those prepared from the unfluorinated aromatic dianhydrides such as BPDA and ODPA. The BPDA‐based polyimide oligomers with a molar ratio of 1,3,4‐APB/3,4′‐ODA = 50:50 (PI‐5) showed lower melt viscosity than those derived from a mixture of 1,3,4‐APB and 3,4′‐ODA with molar ratios of 75:25 and 100:0, respectively. In addition, the melt viscosity of the polyimide oligomers increased obviously with increasing of the polymer calculated molecular weights. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

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     

One-step synthesis of aromatic polyimides based on 4,4′-diaminotriphenylmethane

The feasibility of using a one-step high-temperature polycondensation for the synthesis of aromatic polyimides, based on 4,4′-diaminotriphenylmethane (DA-TPM), was studied. It was found that the reaction of DA-TPM with various aromatic dianhydrides in nitrobenzene at 180–200°C resulted in the formation of the high molecular weight soluble polyimides, PI-TPM. The reaction solutions cooled to ambient temperature were used for casting films. These PI-TPM films significantly exceeded their prototypes obtained by the thermal imidization of poly(amic acids) in terms of solubility and tensile properties. All studied polyimides demonstrated well-distinguished glass transition at 260–320°C. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis of thermally stable aromatic poly(imide amide benzimidazole) copolymers

3,3′‐Dinitrobenzidine was first reacted with excess m‐chlorophenyl acid to form a monomer with dicarboxylic acid end groups. Two types of aromatic dianhydrides (Pyromellitic diconhydride (PMDA) and 3,3′,4,4′‐sulfonyl diphthalic anhydride) were also reacted with excess 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate to form polyimide prepolymers terminated with isocyanate groups. The prepolymers were further extended with the diacid monomer to form nitro groups containing aromatic poly(imide amide). The nitro groups in these copolymers were hydrogenated to form amine groups and then were cyclized at 180°C to form poly(imide amide benzimidazole) in poly(phosphoric acid), which acted as a cyclization agent. The resultant copolymers were soluble in sulfuric acid and poly(phosphoric acid), in sulfolane under heating to 100°C, and in the polar solvent N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone under heating to 100°C with 5% lithium chloride. According to wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, all the copolymers were amorphous. According to thermal analysis, the glass‐transition temperatures of the copolymers were 270–322°C. The 10% weight‐loss temperatures were 460–541°C in nitrogen and 441–529°C in air. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 1435–1444, 2003     

Preparation and properties of polyimides based on bis[3,5‐dimethyl‐4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]methane

A series of polyimide (PI) thin films were synthesized based on bis[3,5‐dimethyl‐4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]methane and conventional aromatic dianhydrides. The structures and properties of the thin films were measured with Fourier transform infrared, NMR, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, and impedance analysis. The PI films exhibited glass‐transition temperatures in the range of 211–300°C and possessed initial thermal decomposition temperature reaching up to 457–482°C in air and 461–473°C in nitrogen. Some PI films had high solubility in organic solvents such as 1‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone, N,N‐dimethylformamide, N,N‐dimethylacetamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, m‐cresol, tetrahydrofuran, and CHCl₃. The mechanical properties of these films were also examined. The dielectric constants of the films were in the range of 2.8–3.3 at 25°C. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 1265–1270, 2007     

Synthesis,characterization, and gas permeability of aromatic polyimides containing pendant phenoxy group

A diamine containing a pendant phenoxy group, 1-phenoxy-2,4-diaminobenzene, was synthesized and condensed with different aromatic dianhydrides [4,4′-oxydiphthalic dianhydride, 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride, 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride, 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracorboxylic dianhydride, and pyromellitic dianhydride] by one-step synthesis at a high temperature in m-cresol to obtain polyimides in high yields. Most of the polyimides exhibited good solvent solubility and could be readily dissolved in chloroform, sym-tetrachloroethane, N,N-dimethylformamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and nitrobenzene. Their inherent viscosities were in the range of 0.33–1.16 dL/g. Wide-angle X-ray spectra revealed that these polymers were amorphous in nature. All these polyimides were thermally stable, having initial decomposition temperatures above 500°C and glass-transition temperatures in the range of 248–281°C. The gas permeability of 4,4′-oxydiphthalic dianhydride and 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride based polyimides was investigated with pure gases: He, H₂, O₂, Ar, N₂, CH₄, and CO₂. A polyimide containing a  C(CF₃)₂ linkage showed a good combination of permeability and selectivity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Soluble aromatic polyimides based on 2,2-bis(3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane: Synthesis and properties

Aromatic polyimides were synthesized from 2,2-bis(3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane (6F-OH diamine) and different aromatic dianhydrides by a one-step hightemperature polycondensation, or by a two-step procedure using either thermal or chemical imidization of poly(amic acids), PAA. The obtained polyimides were compared in terms of their chemical structure, molecular weight, mechanical and thermal properties. The reaction of 6F-OH diamine with different aromatic dianhydrides in amide solvents at room temperature resulted in the formation of PAA with moderate molecular weight (η_inh ⩽ 0.7 g/dL). The thermal imidization of these PAAs led to brittle hydroxy polyimides (PI-6F-OH). In contrast, chemical imidization of similar PAAs in acetic anhydride and pyridine brought about flexible self-supporting polyimide films. The FTIR analysis indicated that the latter process was accompanied by an esterification of the OH groups in the diamine moieties, resulting in the formation of the polymers with side acetate groups (PI-6F-Ac). The high molecular weight hydroxy polyimides, suitable for preparation of films with good tensile properties, were synthesized by a one-step high-temperature polycondensation in phenolic solvents. All obtained polyimides were well soluble in common organic solvents. The highest solubility was observed for PI-6F-Ac. It was found by means of FTIR and TGA that the polyimides with the R group (R = OH or acetate) in orto position to the nitrogen atom in the diamine moiety underwent a rearrangement to benzoxazoles above 300°C. The starting temperature and conversion of this rearrangement reaction were controlled by the type of R group. The imide-to-benzoxazole rearrangement shifted to lower temperatures, and higher conversion was encountered for the polyimides with side acetate group, PI-6F-Ac, obtained by chemical imidization. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Structure and properties of polyimide‐bonded magnets processed from prepolymers based on diacetyl derivatives of aromatic diamines and dianhydrides

We report a novel method of polyimide (PI) synthesis from prepolymers based on dianhydrides and diacetyl derivatives of aromatic diamines that facilitate the preparation of a melt processable mixture at 300 ± 10°C of the prepolymer and magnetic Nd‐Fe‐B alloy to provide PI‐bonded magnets with enhanced properties. It is shown that chemical structure of the prepolymers strongly influences viscosity behavior via crystallization of the oligoimide in the melt, leading to formation of PI with rigid‐rod like structure. This structural ordering of the prepolymers based on diacetyl derivative of diamine used in this study, if not controlled, leads to exponential increase of melt viscosity with time, making it practically impossible to prepare melt processable mixture of the magnetic particles and the PI prepolymers at elevated temperatures. The results obtained demonstrate that appropriate dianhydrides and diacetyl derivatives of diamines that do not lead to crystallization of oligoimides in prepolymer mixture can be used under controlled processing conditions to prepare melt‐processable PI‐bonded magnets containing rigid‐rod like PI structure that significantly increases thermal stability of the magnets. The temperature dependencies of the magnetic properties of the PI‐bonded magnets under conditions that they are likely to encounter during their service life were found to be remarkably similar to that of commercial thermoplastic magnets such as injection‐molded nylon magnets. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 478–485, 2006     

Synthesis and properties of flourine-containing polyimides

A series of new flourine-containing polyimides have been synthesized from the condensation of 2,2,-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]propane, 2,2-bis[4-(4-amino-phenoxy)phenyl]-1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane, or 2,2bis[4-(4-amino-2-trifluoro-methylphenoxy)phenyl]-1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane with various aromatic dianhydrides. The electric constant at 1 KHz in the flourine-containing polyimides decreases from 3.51 to 2.72 as flourine content increases. The poly(amic acid)s had inherit viscosities of 0.52–1.23 dL/g, depending on the diamines and dianhydrides. Most of the resulting polymers showed an amorphous nature and afforded flexible and tough films. The amount of moisture absorption decreases as flourine content in polyimides increases. The glass transition temperatures of these polyimides were in the range of 287–328°C, and the 10% weight loss temperatures were above 542°C in the nitrogen. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 609–617, 1997     

Effects of molecular structure on the permeability and permselectivity of aromatic polyimides

Permeability coefficients of H₂, O₂, and N₂ were measured under 10 atm at the temperature from ambient temperature up to 150°C in a series of structurally different aromatic homo-and copolyimides, which were prepared from 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA) or 4,4′-methylene dianiline (MDA) with various aromatic dianhydrides. The study shows that the molecular structure of the polyimides strongly influences gas permeability and permselectivity. As a result, the permeability coefficients of the polyimide membranes for each gas vary by over two orders of magnitude. In general, among the polyimide membranes studied, the increase in permeability of polymers is accompanied by the decrease in permselectivity, and the MDA-based polyimide membranes have higher permeability than ODA-based ones. Among the polyimides prepared from bridged dianhydrides, the permeability coefficients to H₂, O₂, and N₂ are progressively increased in the order BPDA <BTDA <ODPA ∼ TDPA <DSDA <SiDA <6FDA, while H₂/N₂ and O₂/N₂ permselectivity coefficients are progressively decreased in the same order. The copolyimide membranes, which were prepared from 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)dimethylsilane dianhydride (SiDA), and ODA, have favorable gas separation properties and are useful for H₂/N₂ separation applications. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

新型含吡啶环芳香二胺及其可溶性聚酰亚胺的合成与表征

以苯甲醛和3-(4-硝基苯氧基)苯乙酮(NPAP)为原料,通过改进的Chichibabin反应制备了硝基化合物4-苯基-2,6-双[3-(4-硝基苯氧基)苯基]吡啶(PNPP),再用Pd/C和水合肼将PNPP进行还原,成功制备了一种新型含吡啶环的芳香二胺4-苯基-2,6-双[3-(4-胺基苯氧基)苯基]吡啶(PAPP)。以PAPP作为二胺,3,3′,4,4′-二苯醚四羧酸二酐(ODPA)作为二酐,N,N-二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)为溶剂,通过常规的两步法,经热或者化学亚胺化形成聚酰亚胺,制得了一种新型的含吡啶环聚酰亚胺。所得聚酰胺酸和聚酰亚胺的粘度分别为0.59 dL/g和0.56 dL/g。化学亚胺化所得的聚酰亚胺速溶于常见有机溶剂如DMF、N,N-二甲基乙酰胺(DMAc)、N-甲基-2-吡咯烷酮(NMP)、四氢呋喃(THF)等。制得了柔韧的聚酰亚胺膜,膜有很好的热稳定性,玻璃化转变温度(T_g)为230.8℃,氮气氛中10%失重温度为552.0℃,同时,膜还有较好的力学性能,拉伸强度为88.6 MPa,拉伸模量为1.04 GPa,断裂伸长率为8.7%,膜的吸水率为0.89%。     

Preparation and properties of soluble copolysulfoneimide and performance of solvent‐resistant ultrafiltration membrane

Soluble copolysulfoneimides were synthesized by thermal two‐step method in solution of N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone. The used aromatic diamines were bis[4‐(3‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]sulfone (BAPS‐m) and 3,3′‐diaminosulfone, and dianhydrides were pyromellitic dianhydride, 4,4′‐oxyphthalic anhydride, and 3,3′,4,4′‐diphenylsulfone tetracarboxylic dianhydride. The molar ratio of diamines was changed to reduce the content of BAPS‐m. The thermal and mechanical properties of polyimides were investigated. The polyimide ultrafiltration membrane with molecular weight cut‐off of 10 kDa could be successfully prepared by phase‐inversion method. Various solvent (water, alcohols, acetone, and hexane) fluxes were measured to investigate solvent‐resistance and membrane behavior during solvent permeation. The activation energy relationship between hexane flux and viscosity with temperature was also studied. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 1024–1030, 2002     

Soluble aromatic polyimides with high glass transition temperature from benzidine containing tert-butyl groups

A series of soluble polyimides with high glass transition temperature (T _g ) were prepared from four commercial aromatic dianhydrides (i.e., BPDA, OPDA, 6FDA and BPADA) with a rigid aromatic diamine containing tert-butyl groups (3,3′-di-tert-butylbenzidine) (1). The number-average molecular weights of them were in the range from 4.21?×?10⁴ to 1.25?×?10⁵ with the polydispersity indexes between 2.34 and 3.04 by means of gel permeation chromatography relative to a polystyrene standard. They were able to form transparent, flexible and tough films by polymer solution casting. The transmittance of them was higher than 90 % in a wavelength range of 400–700 nm by UV–vis measurement. The XRD results demonstrated that they were amorphous glassy polymers. Except for polyimide 1-BPADA, the T _g s of the rest were higher than 330 °C, and especially the T _g of polyimide 1-BPDA reached up to 375 °C. They did not show appreciable decomposition up to 500 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere, in other words, the 5 % weight losses of them were in the range from 508 to 523 °C. Most of them exhibited high tensile strength and modulus with a low elongation at break at room temperature. They are potential candidates for high performance materials.     

Preparation and characterization of organosoluble polyimides based on 1,1-bis[4-(3,4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]cyclohexane and commercial aromatic dianhydrides

A bis(ether amine) III-A containing a cyclohexane cardo group, 1,1-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]cyclohexane, was synthesized and used as a monomer to prepare polyimides VI-A with six commercial dianhydrides via three different procedures. The intermediate poly(amic acid)s had inherent viscosities of 0.83–1.69 dL g⁻¹ and were thermally or chemically converted into polyimides. Polyimides were also prepared by high-temperature direct polymerization in m-cresol and had inherent viscosities higher than the thermally or chemically cyclodehydrated ones. To improve the solubility of polyimides, six copolyimides were also synthesized from bis(ether amine) III-A with a pair of dianhydrides, which contained 3,3′,4,4′-diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride or 4,4′-hexafluoroisopropylidenediphthalic anhydride. Series VI-A polyimides were characterized by the good physical properties of their film-forming ability, thermal stability, and tensile properties. A comparative study of the properties, with the corresponding polyimides derived from 2,2-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]propane, is also presented. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 2750–2759, 2001     

Study on preparation and properties of novel reactive phenolic hydroxyl-containing polyimides

Novel reactive polyimides (PIs) containing phenolic hydroxyl functionalities were prepared from 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2,6-bis[3-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]pyridine (m,p-HAPP) with various aromatic dianhydrides via one-step polycondensation procedure. The inherent viscosities of the PIs were 0.54–0.63 dL/g in DMF solution and most of them were readily soluble in common organic solvents such as DMF, DMAc, NMP, and m-Cresol, etc. Meanwhile, the PIs also had good thermal stability, with the glass transition temperature (T _g) of 221.7–310.5 °C, the temperature at 10 % weight loss of 524.1–579.3 °C in nitrogen atmosphere. Then commercial epoxy resin was cured in the presence of different ratios of the reactive polyimide, giving a series of polyimide modified epoxy films. Thermogravimetric analysis showed the increase of the temperature at 5 % weight loss of the films with the increase of the polyimide content; 296 °C for 0 %, 309 °C for 1.95 %, 337 °C for 3.85 % and 350 °C for 5.63 %.