Effects of linking groups in fluorinated aromatic polyamides

Based on dynamic thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of fluorinated aromatic polyamides, we found that substituting terephthaloyl units for isophthaloyl units usually increased the thermal stability of the polymers. In contrast, the first steps of thermal degradation of poly(5,5′-sulfonyl-2,2′-difluoro-diphenyl terephthalamide) (2,2′-DIF-PSDPT) and poly(5,5′-sulfonyl-2,2′-difluorodphenyl isophthalamide)(2,2′-DIF-PSDPI) followed almost the same curve. This was attributed to the relative flexibility of the ? SO₂? group, and also to the activating effect on the dehydrofluorination reaction, which was believed to be the first step of the degradation of the ortho-fluorinated aromatic polyamides, , resulting in the formation of benzoxazole groups, , on the polymer backbone. With fluorinated aromatic polyamides having ortho fluorine to the amide nitrogen, the electron releasing ? CH₂? group deactivated the nucleophilic substitution of the dehydrofluorination reaction and the electron withdrawing group ? SO₂? activated the reaction, so that the onset degradation temperatures of the fluorinated aromatic units R in followed the order: