Effect of isothermal aging on the imidization of PMR-15

The imidization of polymerizable reactive mixtures, PMR-15 has been performed in a vacuum oven at isothermal aging temperatures ranging from 65 to 200°C for aging periods of 0.5 to 2.5 h. The weight loss of the resin and chemical changes that occurred as a result of aging were monitored gravimetrically and by FT-IR spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to determine the temperature at which imidization took place. Imidization was observed to commence at 65°C after long aging times, t ≥ 2.5 h and at ∼95°C at a shorter time, t ∼0.5 h. At higher aging temperatures of 135 to 165°C, extensive imidization occurred. This was shown by the dramatic increase in imide absorption bands at 1780 and 1380 cm⁻¹. Beyond 165°C, there were no significant changes in the imide absorption bands, suggesting that imidization was nearly complete. The activation energy for isothermal aging was determined from the slope of the log of the rate of weight loss vs 1/T curve to be ∼4.5 kJ/mol and is lower than the average activation energy for imidization ∼43 kJ/mol obtained from the plot of the log of the rate of increase of the imide carbonyl peak absorption at 1780 cm⁻¹ vs 1/T.     

Rate of imidization of polymerizable reaction mixtures: PMR-15

Imidization of PMR-15 was investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) as a function of time and temperature. Imidization was performed at 65 ≤ T ≤ 300°C for 3 ≤ t ≤ 150 min. FTIR spectroscopy showed that imidization (measured by the changes in the imide carbonyl absorption at 1778 cm⁻¹) increased with temperature and time. Imidization was found to be nearly completed in 2.5 h at 300°C. Imidization of PMR-15 occurred in three stages: (i) the initial imidization region characterized by gradual reaction followed by (ii) a very rapid reaction region that spans about 0.5 h and (iii) a final imidization region characterized by a gradual reaction and spans about 2 h. An Avrami-type kinetic analysis was used to obtain the reaction order of 1.5 and 1.7 and the rate constant for imidization of 1.3 × 10⁻³ and 1.5 × 10⁻³ min^−3/2; at 135 and 165°C, respectively. Comparison with other kinetic models shows agreement at low conversions (p ≤ 15%). At high conversions of p > 20%, a second-order kinetic model seems to fit the data reasonably well in agreement with the observed order. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 2529–2538, 1997     

Effects of ionic liquids as catalysts on liquid crystal aromatic polyester based on thin-film polymerization technique

Liquid crystal aromatic polyesters (LCAPs) have been used in wide applications, such as chip packaging and airship skin. The traditional polymerization of LCAP is catalyzed by inorganic salts, for example, sodium acetate. Herein, we reported three kinds of ionic liquids (ILs) as catalysts to promote LCAP polymerization for the first time. The effects of ILs on the polymerization behaviors are investigated by in situ observing the liquid crystal (LC) phase behaviors based on the thin-film polymerization technique. The evolution of LC phase over time was detailly investigated by analyzing the emergence, fusion, and growth of LC phase. The temperature from 170 to 210°C and the catalyst concentration in range from 0 to 0.5 wt% are compared, showing that temperature at 210°C and catalyst concentration at 0.5 wt% are the best polymerization conditions for all ILs catalysts. In comparison with trimethylsulfonium iodide and piperidine acetate, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate has the best catalytic effect for the polymerization of LCAP in all experimental conditions. The successful polymerization was confirmed by FT-IR spectra, showing the increased intensity of vibration peak at 1735 cm⁻¹ attributed to the generation of ester groups while the decreased intensities of vibration peaks at 1759 and 1370 cm⁻¹.     

Characterization of the imidization of the aromatic polyimide LARC-160

The polyimide resin LARC-160 was prepared from diethyl-3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylate (BTDE), ethyl-5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylate (NE), and Jeffamine AP-22. The imidization reactions of NE and BTDE were studied by HPLC, ¹³C-NMR, and IR. NE imidizes slowly at 12°C; BTDE imidizes when the resin is heated above 100°C. Both imidization reactions proceed directly to the imide. Neither amic acid is present in significant quantities at any stage of the imidization reactions. The monomer mixture has been stored at 12°C for periods up to 14 months. The effects of resin aging at this temperature on the chemical composition of the resin monomer mixture and the imidized polymer formed on curing were investigated. Aging the resin monomer mixture has the effect of partially advancing the imidization reaction. Aging also results in the formation of slightly higher-molecular-weight polyimide chains after curing of the resin at 140 and 180°C. Bisnadimide (BNI) is observed as a major reaction product, regardless of resin age.     

Metal adhesive properties of polyamides having the 2,3‐bis(1,4‐phenylene)quinoxalinediyl structure

Polyamides were synthesized by interfacial polycondensation of 2,3‐bis(4‐chloroformylphenyl)quinoxaline (BCFPQ) and several aliphatic diamines using a phase transfer catalyst, and their adhesive property for stainless steel was investigated. The inherent viscosity of the obtained polyamides ranged from 0.37 to 1.24 dL g⁻¹. The glass transition temperatures of the polyamides ranged between 154 and 201°C, and their thermal decomposition temperatures were above 450°C. The polyamides were soluble in several organic solvents, including m‐cresol, N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), and formic acid. The adhesive property for stainless steel was examined by a standard tensile test. One member of the series, polyamide P8, derived from BCFPQ and 1,8‐octanediamine, displayed high tensile strength with values of 232 kgf cm⁻² at 20°C, 173 kgf cm⁻² at 120°C, and 137 kgf cm⁻² at 180°C. Thus, the tensile strength of P8 decreased at 180°C, but the decrease was much smaller than that of an epoxy resin in wide use as a metal adhesive. Heat distortion temperature, measured by thermal mechanical analysis, of P8 was 191°C. This suggested that P8 possessed high thermal resistance in metal adhesives. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 1366–1370, 1999     

Synthesis and properties of 6FDA‐BisAAF‐PPD copolyimides for microelectronic applications

In this work, fluorine‐containing copolyimides were synthesized from 6FDA dianhydride and different ratios of BisAAF and PPD diamines. Properties, such as composition, viscosity, dielectric constant, glass‐transition temperature, thermal decomposition temperature, tensile characteristics, and transmittance, were investigated by using elemental analysis, viscometry, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry, a thermogravimetric analyzer, a tensile tester, and UV–visible spectrophotometry. After curing at 300°C for 1 h, imidization was observed, as indicated the appearance of an absorption peak of the carbonyl of the imide at 1780 cm^?1 (C?O asymmetry stretching). The inherent viscosity increased with an increasing PPD mole fraction, from 0.40 dL/g of pure 6FDA‐BisAAF to 0.84 dL/g of pure 6FDA‐PPD. The dielectric constant decreased with increasing fluorine content. The glass‐transition temperature increased with an increasing PPD mole fraction; the values increased from 317°C with pure 6FDA‐BisAAF polyimide to 364°C with pure 6FDA‐PPD polyimide. The 5% weight loss temperature (T_d) of the copolyimides was around 530°C in air and 540°C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The tensile modulus and tensile strength gradually increased with an increasing PPD molar fraction. The transmittance of 6FDA‐BisAAF‐PPD copolyimides was greater than 90% at wavelengths above 500 nm. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 2064–2069, 2005     

Intermolecular interaction and conformation in poly(ether ether ketone)/poly(ether imide) blends — An infrared spectroscopic investigation

The intermolecular interaction and the conformation in miscible blends of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) and poly(ether imide) (PEI) have been investigated by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The intensity of the C=O out-of-phase stretching (1725 cm^–1) of PEI shows a minimum at 70 wt% PEI, whereas that of the C=O in-phase stretching (1778 cm^–1) is not perturbed by blending. These intensity variations have been attributed to the effect of blending on the coplanarity of the two imide rings bridged by the phenylene group. Change in coplanarity of these two imide rings alters the intensity of the C=O out-of-phase stretching, but it can not affect the intensity of the C=O in-phase stretching. When the two imide rings are perpendicular to each other, the intensity of the C=O out-of-phase stretching is shown to reach the minimum, corresponding to the observation at 70 wt% PEI. The difference spectra (blend - PEEK - PEI) reveal that the bands associated with the diphenyl ether groups in PEEK are modified by blending with PEI. It is proposed that the favorable interaction takes place between the oxygen lone-pair electrons of the ether group in PEEK and the electron-deficient imide rings in PEI.     

Supercritical CO2-assisted extrusion foaming: A suitable process to produce very lightweight acrylic polymer micro foams

A strategy of CO₂-assisted extrusion foaming of PMMA-based materials was established to minimize both foam density and porosities dimension. First a highly CO₂-philic block copolymer (MAM: PMMA-PBA-PMMA) was added in PMMA in order to improve CO₂ saturation before foaming. Then the extruding conditions were optimized to maximize CO₂ uptake and prevent coalescence. The extruding temperature reduction led to an increase of pressure in the barrel, favorable to cell size reduction. With the combination of material formulation and extruding strategy, very lightweight homogeneous foams with small porosities have been produced. Lightest PMMA micro foams (ρ = 0.06 g cm⁻³) are demonstrated with 7 wt% CO₂ at 130°C and lightest blend micro foams (ρ = 0.04 g cm⁻³) are obtained at lower temperature (110°C, 7.7 wt% CO₂). If MAM allows a reduction of T^foaming, it also allows a much better cell homogeneity, an increase in cell density (e.g., from 3.6 10⁷ cells cm⁻³ to 2 to 6 10⁸ cells cm⁻³) and an overall decrease in cell size (from 100 to 40 μm). These acrylic foams produced through scCO₂-assisted extrusion has a much lower density than those ever produced in batch (ρ ≥ 0.2 g cm⁻³).     

Poly(β-amino ester) based solid polymer electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries

In this paper, we present the synthesis of poly(β-amino ester)-based solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) from off-stoichiometric acrylate-amine formulations using one-step, catalyst and solvent free aza-Michael addition. By varying the monomers, the pendant functionality of the polymer chain structure could be altered. All synthesized polymers yield freestanding and easy to handle electrolyte films and hence are evaluated as a new class of SPEs. The SPE with 1,4-butanediol diacrylate and propylamine showed the highest conductivity of 1.15 × 10⁻⁷ S cm⁻¹ at 30°C with 10 wt% lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide. Because of the presence of the various functional groups in the structure, the polymer chain aids in the movement of both the anion and the cation.     

Solvent effect on the curing of polyimide resins

The effect of the solvent 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) on the curing of polyimide resins synthesized from pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA) has been investigated. Three polyimide precursors, i.e., the polyamic acid (PAA), with controlled amount of NMP were prepared. The study was aimed first to independently investigate the decomplexation process, which involved the evolution of hydrogen-bonded NMP from PAA, without interference from imidization. This was accomplished by TGA at varying heating rates using different solvent content in PAA. The observed one-stage decomplexation process suggested that the complex formation of NMP and PAA was not the same as the model compound studied by others. An average value of 150 kJ/mol for the activation energy of the decomplexation process was obtained. The study then sought to identify the effect of the decomplexation on the imidization kinetics by employing DSC at several drying temperatures and also varying heating rates. This allowed one to control the extent of plasticization that occurred to facilitate the imidization process. Our DSC data showed that over-drying PAA resulted in prolonged imidization due mainly to the lack of plasticization by decomplexed NMP. The estimated enthalpy of imidization and that of decomplexation were 114 KJ/mol and 53 kJ/mol NMP, respectively. Finally, the imidization kinetics was independently investigated using FTIR, without the interference from decomplexation process. The results indicated that there were four stages during the entire imidization process. Up to a temperature of 150°C, less than 20% of amide groups had reacted to give imide groups and the reaction was slow. Most of the imidization took place between 150 and 180°C with conversion as high as 90%. The imidization process was completed after the temperature was further raised to 250°C. Above 250°C, the reverse reaction became more significant (due probably to configurational and packing preference) and resulted in a lowering of final conversion back to 80%. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Advantages of a Polyimide Membrane Support in Nonhumidified Fluorohydrogenate‐Polymer Composite Membrane Fuel Cells

We have successfully prepared composite membranes consisting of the ionic liquid N‐ethyl‐N‐methylpyrrolidinium fluorohydrogenate and the polymer 2‐hydroxyethylmethacrylate and have secured them on a polyimide (PI) membrane support. The resulting EMPyr(FH)_1.7F–HEMA (9:1 molar ratio) composite possesses ionic conductivity of 75 mS cm⁻¹ at 120 °C when a 16‐µm support is employed, showing improved performance with elevated temperature; this marks a significant difference from devices using conventional polytetrafluoroethylene supports. In the single cell test, a maximum power density of 31 mW cm⁻² is observed at 120 °C. Cross‐sectional SEM images of the corresponding membrane electrode assemblies reveal no significant difference in membrane thickness before and after cell testing, implying that this support does not suffer from membrane softening issues.     

Performance characterization of direct formic acid fuel cell using porous carbon-supported palladium anode catalysts

Palladium particles supported on porous carbon of 20 and 50 nm pore diameters were prepared and applied to the direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC). Four different anode catalysts with Pd loading of 30 and 50 wt% were synthesized by using impregnation method and the cell performance was investigated with changing experimental variables such as anode catalyst loading, formic acid concentration, operating temperature and oxidation gas. The BET surface areas of 20 nm, 30 wt% and 20 nm, 50 wt% Pd/porous carbon anode catalysts were 135 and 90 m²/g, respectively. The electro-oxidation of formic acid was examined in terms of cell power density. Based on the same amount of palladium loading with 1.2 or 2 mg/cm², the porous carbon-supported palladium catalysts showed higher cell performance than unsupported palladium catalysts. The 20 nm, 50 wt% Pd/porous carbon anode catalyst generated the highest maximum power density of 75.8 mW/cm² at 25 °C. Also, the Pd/porous carbon anode catalyst showed less deactivation at the high formic acid concentrations. When the formic acid concentration was increased from 3 to 9 M, the maximum power density was decreased from 75.8 to 40.7 mW/cm² at 25 °C. Due to the high activity of Pd/porous carbon catalyst, the cell operating temperature has less effect on DFAFC performance.     

Anomalous thermally stimulated currents and space charge in poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)

To study the mechanisms of charge production and storage in poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), short circuit thermally stimulated currents (TSCs) in solution‐grown PVP depolarized at 30, 50 and 80 °C with 25, 50 and 100 kV cm⁻¹ have been analysed in the temperature range 30–200 °C. By employing TSC measurements with a conventional ‘contact electrode’ two kinds of charges have been observed. An anomalous TSC flowing in the same direction as the charging current was observed for PVP thermoelectrets poled at 50 and 80 °C with 50 and 100 kV cm⁻¹. The TSCs for samples poled at different temperatures (30, 50 and 80 °C) with 25 kV cm⁻¹ have been found to be normal in the sense that the discharge current flows in the direction opposite to that of the charging current. The TSC thermograms have been found to be characterized by two peaks located at 60–70 °C and 160–170 °C. Various characteristics of thermograms have been explained in terms of the existence of heterocharge due to dipolar orientation and ionic homocharge drift, together with the injection of charge carriers from electrodes and their subsequent localization in surface and bulk traps. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Raman study of the microstructure changes of phenolic resin during pyrolysis

After curing, phenol‐formaldehyde resins were post‐cured at 160°C, and then carbonized and graphitized from 300°C to 2400°C. The structure of the resulting carbonized and graphitized resins were studied using X‐ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Thermal fragmentation and condensation of the polymer structure occurred above 300°C. The crystal size of the cured phenolic resins increased with an increase in temperature. The crystal size increased from 0.997 nm to 1.085 nm when the heat‐treatment temperature rose from 160°C to 500°C. Above 600°C, the original resin structures disappeared completely. Below 1000°C, the stack size (L_c) increased very slowly. The values increased from 0.992 to 1.192 nm when the heattreatment temperature rose from 600°C to 1000°C. Above 1000°C, the stack size showed an increase with the increase in heat‐treatment temperature. The values increased from 1.192 to 2.366 nm when the temperature rose from 1000°C to 2400°C. The carbonized and graphitized resins were characterized using Raman spectroscopy. The Raman spectrra were recorded between 700 and 2000 cm⁻¹. Below 400°C, there were no carbon structures in the Raman spectra analysis. Above 500°C, G and D bands appeared. Raman spectra confirmed progressive structure ordering as heat‐treatment temperature increased. The frequency of the G band of all carbonized and graphitized samples shifted to 1600 cm⁻¹ from the 1582 cm⁻¹ of graphite. At the same temperature, the D band shifted to 1330 cm⁻¹ from the 1357 cm⁻¹ of the imperfect carbon. In the curve fitting analysis of the Raman spectra, a Gaussian shaped band centered at 1165 cm⁻¹ was included. This band has not been described before in the literature and is attributed to disordered structures, which are formed from the original polymeric structures. These polymeric structures formed unknown disordered structures and remained in the carbonized phenolic resins. Above 1800°C, this band disappeared completely. But, a weak peak is present near 1620 cm⁻¹. This indicated that those disoriented molecules and some disordered carbons were removed as volatiles or repacked into the glassy carbon structures during graphitization. The carbonized and graphitized phenolic resins were found to correspond to low order sp² bonded carbon, but cannot be considered as truly glassy or amorphous carbon materials since they have some degree of order in the basal plane.     

Effect of film formation process on residual stress of poly(p-phenylene biphenyltetracarboximide) in thin films

Soluble poly(p-phenylene biphenyltetracarboxamine acid) (BPDA-PDA PAA) precursor, which was synthesized from biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride and p-phenylene diamine in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), was spin-cast on silicon substrates, followed by softbake at various conditions over 80–185°C. Softbaked films were converted in nitrogen atmosphere to be the polyimide films of ca. 10 μm thickness through various imidizations over 120–400°C. Residual stress, which is generated at the polymer/substrate interface by volume shrinkage, polymer chain ordering, thermal history, and differences between properties of the polymer film and the substrate, was measured in situ during softbake and subsequent imidization processes. Polymer films imidized were further characterized in the aspect of polymer chain orientation by prism coupling and X-ray diffraction. Residual stress in the polyimide film was very sensitive to all the film formation process parameters, such as softbake temperature and time, imidization temperature, imidization step, heating rate, and film thickness, but insensitive to the cooling process. Softbaked precursor films revealed 9–42 MPa at room temperature, depending on the softbake temperature and time. That is, residual stress in the precursor film was affected by the amount of residual solvent and by partial imidization possibly occurring during softbake above the onset of imidization temperature, ca. 130°C. A lower amount of residual solvent caused higher stress in the precursor film, whereas a higher degree of imidization led to lower stress. Partially imidized precursor films were converted to polyimide films revealing relatively high stresses. After imidization, polyimide films exhibited a wide range of residual stress, 4–43 MPa at room temperature, depending on the histories of softbake and imidization. Relatively high stresses were observed in the polyimide films which were prepared from softbaked films partially imidized and by rapid imidization process with a high heating rate. The residual stress in films is an in-plane characteristic so that it is sensitive to the degree of in-plane chain orientation in addition to the thermal history term. Low stress films exhibited higher degree of in-plane chain orientation. Thus, residual stress in the film would be controlled by the alignment of polyimide chains via the film formation process with varying process parameters. Conclusively, in order to minimize residual stress and to maximize in-plane chain orientation, precursor films should be softbaked for 30 min-2 h below the onset imidization temperature, ca. 130°C, and subsequently imidized over the range of 300–400°C for 1–4 h by a two-step or multi-step process with a heating rate of ? 5.0 K min⁻¹, including a step to cover the boiling point, 202°C, of NMP. In addition, the final thickness of the imidized films should be <20 μm. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.     

Improving ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism of PVDF-CoFe2O4 thick films: Effect of Ethyl acetate and Temperature

PVDF-CoFe₂O₄(CFO) thick membranes were synthesized by solvent casting method. The mixed organic solvents consist of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and Ethyl acetate (EA), in which the mass ratios of NMP and EA (NMP:EA = 1:0, 1:1, and 1:2) and the temperature of solvent evaporation (range from 50 to 80 °C) has been considered. The phase structure, β-PVDF phase content, and electrical and magnetic properties of these membranes were investigated to reveal the effect of EA addition and temperature on these properties. Results manifest that all samples showed coexistence of ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties at room temperature. EA addition makes film more compact, which may be responsible for the differences in ferromagnetic properties. Adding EA and enhancing temperature resulted in phase transition of PVDF from α and γ to β, which contributed to membranes’ ferroelectric performances. In all samples, NMP:EA = 1:2 treated at 80 °C exhibits the maximum β-phase fraction and polarization (Pmax) of 87.2% and 2.398 μC cm⁻², respectively. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48345.     

Fabrication and characterization of sulfonated polybenzimidazole/sulfonated imidized graphene oxide hybrid membranes for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The sulfonated polybenzimidazole (sPBI)/sulfonated imidized graphene oxide (SIGO) was evaluated to be a potential candidate for high temperature proton exchange membranes fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs). Multifunctionalized covalently bonded SIGO is incorporated in sPBI matrix to resolve the drawbacks such as low proton conductivity, poor water uptake, and ion-exchange capacity (IEC) of sPBI polymer, synthesized by direct polycondensation in phosphoric acid for the application of proton exchange membranes. Strong hydrogen bonding among multifunctional groups established a neighborhood of interconnected hydrophobic graphene sheets and organic polymer chains. It provides hydrophobic–hydrophilic phase separation and facile proton hopping architecture. The optimized sPBI/SIGO (15 wt %) revealed 2.45 meq g⁻¹ IEC; 5.81 mS cm⁻¹ proton conductivity [120 °C and 10% relative humidity (RH)] and 2.45% bound water content. The maximum power density of the sPBI/SIGO-15 membrane was 0.40 W cm⁻² at 160 °C (5% RH) and ambient pressure with stoichiometric feed of H₂/air. This recommends that sPBI/SIGO composite membranes are compatible candidate for HT-PEMFCs. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47892.     

Thermal stabilization by polyols of β-xylanase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens

Purified endo-β-1,4-xylanase of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MIR 32 retained 100% of its activity after 4 days of incubation at 50°C. Sorbitol (400 mg cm⁻³) produced a 63-fold increase in the half-life of the enzyme at 65°C, which was only 29 min at this temperature in the absence of the polyol. This thermal stabilizing activity increased exponentially in respect to sorbitol concentration in the range 250–400 mg cm⁻³ and was dependent on the pH, showing a maximum at pH values between 5·25 and 8·0. The circular dichroism (CD) thermal scanning profile (50°C h⁻¹) at 224 nm showed that changes in the secondary structure of xylanase started at 65°C, while in the presence of sorbitol (400 mg cm⁻³) these modifications started at 80°C. This study indicated that sorbitol might be a valuable stabilizer for the use of β-xylanase from B. amyloliquefaciens at high temperatures. © 1998 SCI     

Synthesis and properties of new poly(amide‐imide)s based on 2,5‐bis(trimellitimido)chlorobenzene

A series of new aromatic poly(amide‐imide)s were synthesized by the triphenyl phosphite‐activated polycondensation of the diimide‐diacid, 2,5‐bis(trimellitimido)chlorobenzene (I) with various aromatic diamines in a medium consisting of N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), pyridine, and calcium chloride. The poly(amide‐imide)s had inherent viscosities of 0.76–1.42 dL g⁻¹. The diimide‐diacid monomer (I) was prepared from 2‐chloro‐p‐phenylenediamine with trimellitic anhydride. Most of the resulting polymers showed an amorphous nature and were readily soluble in a variety of organic solvents, including NMP and N,N‐dimethylacetamide. Transparent, flexible, and tough films of these polymers could be cast from N,N‐dimethylacetamide or NMP solutions. Their cast films had tensile strengths ranging from 74 to 95 MPa, elongations at break from 7 to 11%, and initial moduli from 1.38 to 3.25 GPa. The glass transition temperatures of these polymers were in the range of 233°–260°C, and the 10% weight loss temperatures were above 450°C in nitrogen. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 71: 1691–1701, 1999     

Synthesis and characterization of new poly(amide‐imide)s based on 1,4‐bis(trimellitimido)‐2,5‐dichlorobenzene

A series of new aromatic poly(amide‐imide)s were synthesized by the triphenyl phosphite‐activated polycondensation of the diimide‐diacid, 1,4‐bis(trimellitimido)‐2,5‐dichlorobenzene (I), with various aromatic diamines in a medium consisting of N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), pyridine, and calcium chloride. The poly(amide‐imide)s had inherent viscosities of 0.88–1.27 dL g⁻¹. The diimide‐diacid monomer (I) was prepared from 2,5‐dichloro‐p‐phenylenediamine with trimellitic anhydride. All the resulting polymers were amorphous and were readily soluble in a variety of organic solvents, including NMP and N,N‐dimethylacetamide. Transparent, flexible, and tough films of these polymers could be cast from N,N‐dimethylacetamide or NMP solutions. Cast films had tensile strengths ranging from 92 to 127 MPa, elongations at break from 4 to 24%, and initial moduli from 2.59 to 3.65 GPa. The glass transition temperatures of these polymers were in the range of 256°–317°C, and the 10% weight loss temperatures were above 430°C in nitrogen. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 271–278, 1999