Microwave‐enhanced rapid synthesis of organosoluble polyamides based on 5‐(3‐acetoxynaphthoylamino)‐isophthalic acid

A series of photoactive polyamides (PAs) containing acetoxynaphthalamide side chain with inherent viscosities of 0.27–0.56 dl g^?1 were prepared by the direct polycondensation reaction of the 5‐(3‐acetoxynaphthoylamino)isophthalic acid with various commercially available diamines by means of triphenyl phosphite (TPP) and pyridine (Py) in the presence of calcium chloride and N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP) under microwave irradiation and conventional heating conditions. Most of the resulting PAs are soluble in strong polar solvents such as N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N‐dimethylacetamide, and NMP. Thermo‐gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that polymers are thermally stable, 10% weight loss temperatures in excess of 320 and 378°C, and char yields at 600°C in nitrogen higher than 60%. These macromolecules exhibited maximum UV‐Vis absorption at 265 and 300 nm in a DMF solution. Their photoluminescence in the DMF solution demonstrated fluorescence emission maxima around 361 and 427 nm for all of the PAs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.