New organosoluble and thermally stable poly(amide‐imide)s with benzoxazole or benzothiazole pendent groups: synthesis and characterization

Two new benzoxazole or benzothiazole‐containing diimide‐dicarboxylic acid monomers, such as 2‐3,5‐bis(N‐trimellitimidoyl)phenyl]benzoxazole ( 2 _o ) or 2‐3,5‐bis(N‐trimellitimidoyl)phenyl]benzothiazole ( 2 _s ) were synthesized from the condensation reaction between 3,5‐diaminobenzoic acid and 2‐aminophenol or 2‐aminothiophenol in polyphosphoric acid (PPA) with subsequent reaction of trimellitic anhydride in the presence of glacial acetic acid, respectively, and two new series of modified aromatic poly(amide‐imide)s were prepared. This preparation was done with pendent benzoxazole or benzothiazole units from the newly synthesized diimide‐dicarboxylic acid and various aromatic diamines by triphenyl phosphite‐activated polycondensation. In addition, the corresponding unsubstituted poly(amide‐imide)s were prepared under identical experimental conditions for comparative purposes. Characterization of polymers was accomplished by inherent viscosity measurements, FT‐IR, UV–visible, ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy and thermogravimetry. The polymers were obtained in quantitative yields with inherent viscosities between 0.39 and 0.81 dl g^?1. The solubilities of modified poly(amide‐imide)s in common organic solvents as well as their thermal stability were enhanced compared to those of the corresponding unmodified poly(amide‐imide)s. The glass transition temperature, 10% weight loss temperature, and char yields at 800°C were, respectively, 7–26°C, 17–46°C and 2–5% higher than those of the unmodified polymers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.