Comparative Study of Polyimides Containing Oxadiazole and Ether Groups

An aromatic diamine with a preformed oxadiazole ring and various dianhydrides with ether and other flexible or bulky groups, such as isopropylidene, hexafluoroisopropylidene, cyclohexylidene or fluorenylidene, were used in a polycondensation reaction at high temperature to produce poly(oxadiazole-ether-imide)s. The properties of these polymers such as solubility, film-forming ability, thermal stability and photoluminescence were studied and compared with those of related conventional aromatic polyimides. The mechanical properties of the free-standing films obtained from these polyimides were also investigated.