High‐optical transparency and low‐dielectric constant of new organosoluble polyamides containing trifluoromethyl and xanthene groups

A series of fluorinated polyamides was prepared directly by low‐temperature polycondensation of a new cardo diacid chloride, 9,9‐bis[4‐(4‐chloroformylphenoxy)phenyl]xanthene (BCPX), with various diamines containing trifluoromethyl substituents in N,N ‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Almost all polyamides showed excellent solubility in amide‐type solvents such as DMAc and could also be dissolved in pyridine, m ‐cresol, and tetrahydrofuran. These polymers had inherent viscosities between 0.77 and 1.31 dL g − 1 , and their weight‐average molecular weights and number‐average molecular weights were in the range of 69,000–102,000 and 41,000–59,000, respectively. The resulting polymers showed glass transition temperatures between 240–258°C and 10% weight loss temperatures ranging from 484°C to 517°C and 410°C to 456°C in nitrogen and air, respectively, and char yields at 800°C in nitrogen higher than 55%. All polymers were amorphous and could be cast into transparent, light‐colored, and flexible films with tensile strengths of 81–100 MPa, elongations at break of 8–12%, and tensile modulus of 1.6–2.1 GPa. These polymers had low‐dielectric constants of 3.34–3.65 (100 kHz), low‐moisture absorption in the range of 0.76–1.91%, and high transparency with an ultraviolet–visible absorption cut‐off wavelength in the 322–340 nm range. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010