LARCTMTPI Containing Pendant Phenoxy Moieties

The poly(keto-imide), LARC^TM-TPI, was developed in the late 1970's and has proven to be remarkable stable as a high temperature adhesives. Thermal aging results that were generated at both NASA Langley Research Center and at Boeing Aerospace Company proved this material to be stable in adhesive bond form for at least 60,000 hours at 232°C. A commercial form of LARC^TM-TPI was made available in the mid-to-late 1980's by Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Inc. (MTC). Since that time, MTC has optimized the process for manufacturing LARC^TM-TPI with the major improvements being in molecular weight control. Most recently, MTC synthesized a derivatized version of LARC^TM-TPI which contains pendant phenoxy moieties. This material is soluble in a number of organic solvents and it exhibits outstanding melt-flow properties which make it attractive as a hot-melt-processable polyimide adhesive. The synthesis and characterization of this novel material is the subject of this research paper.