Synthesis of soluble and thermally stable poly[arylene ether amide (N-arylenebenzimidazole)]s

Poly(arylene ether)s containing N‐arylenebenzimidazole and amide groups were prepared using an aromatic nucleophilic displacement reaction that replaced the N‐H sites from four different bis(benzimidazolyl) derivatives with activated aromatic difluorides containing ether and amide groups in sulfolane. The reaction was carried out at 210 °C in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate. The structures of the polymers were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared, 1H NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, and the results were largely consistent with the proposed structure. All resulting polymers showed an essentially amorphous nature. This was consistent with the calculated results. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric measurements showed that the polymers had high glass transition temperatures (>190 °C), good thermostability and high decomposition temperatures (>400 °C). These novel polymers also showed easy solubility. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry A series of novel poly(arylene ether)s containing N‐arylenebenzimidazole and amide groups have been prepared and the synthesized polymers have some special characteristics.