Synthesis and properties of fluorinated aromatic poly(amide imide)s based on 4,4′‐bis(4‐amino‐2‐trifluoromethylphenoxy)benzophenone and various bis(trimellitimide)s

A CF 3 ‐containing diamine, 4,4′‐bis(4‐amino‐2‐trifluoromethylphenoxy)benzophenone ( 2 ), was synthesized from 4,4′‐dihydroxybenzophenone and 2‐chloro‐5‐nitrobenzotrifluoride. Imide‐containing diacids ( 3 and 5B a – 5B g ) were prepared by the condensation reaction of aromatic diamines and trimellitic anhydride. Then, two series of novel soluble aromatic poly(amide imide)s (PAIs; 6A a – 6A k and 6B a – 6B g ) were synthesized from a diamine ( 4A a – 4A k or 2 ) with the imide‐containing diacids ( 3 and 5B a – 5B g ) via direct polycondensation with triphenyl phosphate and pyridine. The aromatic PAIs had inherent viscosities of 0.74–1.76 dL/g. All of the synthesized polymers showed excellent solubility in amide‐type solvents, such as N ‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone and N,N ‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), and afforded transparent and tough films by DMAc solvent casting. These polymer films had tensile strengths of 90–113 MPa, elongations at break of 8–15%, and initial moduli of 2.0–2.9 GPa. The glass‐transition temperatures of the aromatic PAIs were in the range 242–279°C. They had 10% weight losses at temperatures above 500°C and showed excellent thermal stabilities. The 6B series exhibited less coloring and showed lower yellowness index values than the corresponding 6A series. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102:3641–3653, 2006