Low dielectric constant polyimide nanomats by electrospinning

The proper combination of material (i.e. fluorinated polyimides) and processing technique (electrospinning) could lead to the formation of polyimides with low dielectric constant, high thermo‐oxidative stability and glass transition temperature, and high hydrophobicity. The polyimides in this work were based on 4, 4‐bis [3′‐trifluoromethyl‐4′ (4′‐amino benzoxy) benzyl] biphenyl (Q) and various fluorinated and non‐fluorinated dianhydrides namely benzene‐1,2,4,5‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride, 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride, benzophenone‐3,3′,4,4′‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride, and 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA). Processing of the polyimides was carried out in poly(amic acid) stage by two different methods—electrospinning and solution casting for comparison purposes. The processing of polyimides by electrospinning led to enhancement in mechanical properties (dianhydride‐structure dependent) and hydrophobicity without sacrificing thermo‐oxidative stability and glass transition temperatures significantly. Also, low dielectric constants (as low as 1.43) could be attained by suitable combination of dianhydride (6FDA) with 4, 4‐bis [3′‐trifluoromethyl‐4′ (4′‐amino benzoxy) benzyl] biphenyl diamine. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fully imidized soluble polyimides based on a novel dianhydride: 2,2′-dichloro-4,4′,5,5′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride

We have synthesized a novel dianhydride, 2,2′-dichloro-4,4′,5,5′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (DCBTDA). Polyimides were synthesized with DCBTDA or 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and several relatively rigid meta- and para- substituted mononuclear diamines. The BTDA based systems were insoluble in dipolar, aprotic solvents whereas the DCBTDA based polymers displayed enhanced solubility in these solvents. The thermal stability of these polyimides was excellent as measured by 5% weight loss decomposition. The T_g's of the polymers were all above 290°C.     

Effects of tetracarboxylic dianhydrides on the properties of sulfonated polyimides

A series of sulfonated polyimides (SPIs) were synthesized from a sulfonated diamine of 4,4′‐bis(4‐aminophenoxy) biphenyl‐3,3′‐disulfonic acid (BAPBDS), common nonsulfonated diamines, and various tetracarboxylic dianhydrides including 1,4,5,8‐naphthalene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTDA), 3,4,9,10‐perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTDA), 4,4′‐binaphthyl‐1,1′,8,8′‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA), 4,4′‐ketone dinaphthalene 1,1′,8,8′‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride (KDNTDA), and isophthatic dinaphthalene 1,1′,8,8′‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride (IPNTDA). Their membrane properties were investigated to clarify the effects of the dianhydrides. They displayed reasonably high mechanical properties, thermal stability, and proton conductivity. The dianhydrides with flexible and non‐coplanar structure (IPNTDA > KDNTDA > BTDA) led to the better solubility of the SPIs than those with rigid and coplanar one (NTDA, PTDA). The dianhydride with the smaller molecular weight led to the larger value of the number of sorbed water molecules per sulfonic acid group (λ) in membrane, that is, NTDA (λ: 17) > PTDA (15) > BTDA (14) > KDNTDA (12) > IPNTDA (10), and as a result let to the larger proton conductivity in water. All of the BAPBDS‐based SPIs showed the anisotropy in membrane swelling and in proton conductivity, of which the degree hardly depended on the dianhydride moieties. The water stability of SPI membranes against the aging in water at 130 °C for 192 h was in the order, PTDA = NTDA ≧ BTDA > KDNTDA > IPNTDA. The hydrolysis stability of polymer chain was similar between the BTDA‐ and KDNTDA‐based SPIs. These results are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 905–915, 2010     

Synthesis and properties of novel polyimides derived from 2,2′,3,3′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride

A new synthetic route to 2,2′,3,3′‐BTDA (where BTDA is benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride), an isomer of 2,3′,3′,4′‐BTDA and 3,3′,4,4′‐BTDA, is described. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis of 2,2′,3,3′‐BTDA has shown that this dianhydride has a bent and noncoplanar structure. The polymerizations of 2,2′,3,3′‐BTDA with 4,4′‐oxydianiline (ODA) and 4,4′‐bis(4‐aminophenoxy)benzene (TPEQ) have been investigated with a conventional two‐step process. A trend of cyclic oligomers forming in the reaction of 2,2′,3,3′‐BTDA and ODA has been found and characterized with IR, NMR, matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry, and elemental analyses. Films based on 2,2′,3,3′‐BTDA/TPEQ can only be obtained from corresponding polyimide (PI) solutions prepared by chemical imidization because those from their polyamic acids by thermal imidization are brittle. PIs from 2,2′,3,3′‐BTDA have lower inherent viscosities and worse thermal and mechanical properties than the corresponding 2,3′,3′,4′‐BTDA‐ and 3,3′,4,4′‐BTDA‐based PIs. PIs from 2,2′,3,3′‐BTDA and 2,3′,3′,4′‐BTDA are amorphous, whereas those from 3,3′,4,4′‐BTDA have some crystallinity, according to wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. Furthermore, PIs from 2,2′,3,3′‐BTDA have better solubility, higher glass‐transition temperatures, and higher melt viscosity than those from 2,3′,3′,4′‐BTDA and 3,3′,4,4′‐BTDA. Model compounds have been prepared to explain the order of the glass‐transition temperatures found in the isomeric PI series. The isomer effects on the PI properties are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2130–2144, 2004     

Synthesis and characterization of novel fluorinated aromatic polyimides derived from 1,1‐bis(4‐amino‐3,5‐dimethylphenyl)‐1‐(3,5‐ditrifluoromethylphenyl)‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethane and various aromatic dianhydrides

A novel fluorinated aromatic diamine, 1,1‐bis(4‐amino‐3,5‐dimethylphenyl)‐1‐(3,5‐ditrifluoromethylphenyl)‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethane (9FMA), was synthesized by the coupling reaction of 3′,5′‐ditrifluoromethyl‐2,2,2‐trifluoroacetophenone with 2,6‐dimethylaniline under the catalysis of 2,6‐dimethylaniline hydrochloride. A series of fluorinated aromatic polyimides were synthesized from 9FMA and various aromatic dianhydrides, including pyromellitic dianhydride, 3,3′4,4′‐biphenyl tetracarboxylic dianhydride, 4,4′‐oxydiphthalic anhydride, 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA), and 4,4′‐hexafluoroisopropylidene diphthalic anhydride, via a high‐temperature, one‐stage imidization process. The inherent viscosities of the polyimides ranged from 0.37 to 0.74 dL/g. All the polyimides were quickly soluble in many low‐boiling‐point organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, and acetone as well as some polar organic solvents such as N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone, N,N′‐dimethylacetamide, and N,N′‐dimethylformamide. Freestanding fluorinated polyimide films could be prepared and exhibited good thermal stability with glass‐transition temperatures of 298–334 °C and outstanding mechanical properties with tensile strengths of 69–102 MPa and elongations at break of 3.3–9.9%. Moreover, the polyimide films possessed low dielectric constants of 2.70–3.09 and low moisture absorption (<0.58%). The films also exhibited good optical transparency with a cutoff wavelength of 303–351 nm. One polyimide (9FMA/BTDA) also exhibited an intrinsic negative photosensitivity, and a fine pattern could be obtained with a resolution of 5 μm after exposure at the i‐line (365‐nm) wavelength. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2665–2674, 2006     

Polyimides from isomeric diphenylthioether dianhydrides

3,3′,4,4′‐Diphenylthioether dianhydride (4,4′‐TDPA), 2,3,3′,4′‐diphenylthioether dianhydride (3,4′‐TDPA), and 2,2′,3,3′‐diphenylthioether dianhydride (3,3′‐TDPA) were synthesized from 3‐chlorophthalic anhydride and 4‐chlorophthalic anhydride. A series of polyimides derived from the isomeric diphenylthioether dianhydrides with several diamines were prepared. The properties, such as the solubility, thermal and mechanical behavior, dynamic mechanical behavior, wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, and permeability to some gases, were compared among the isomeric polyimides. Both 3,3′‐TDPA‐ and 3,4′‐TDPA‐based polyimides had good solubility in polar aprotic solvents and phenols. The 5% weight loss temperatures of all the obtained polyimides was near 500 °C in nitrogen. The glass‐transition temperatures decreased according to the order of the polyimides based on 3,3′‐TDPA, 3,4′‐TDPA, and 4,4′‐TDPA. The 3,4′‐TDPA‐based polyimides had the best permeability and lowest permselectivity, whereas the 4,4′‐TDPA‐based polyimides had the highest permselectivity and the lowest permeability of the three isomers. Furthermore, the rheological properties of thermoplastic polyimide resins based on the isomeric diphenylthioether dianhydrides were investigated, and they showed that polyimide 3,4′‐TDPA/4,4‐oxydianiline had the lowest melt viscosity among the isomers; this indicated that the melt processibility had been greatly improved. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 959–967, 2006     

Phase behavior of some polyamic acid plus ether systems

Polyamic acids, prepared by reacting 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride with 3,3′-diaminobenzophenone and with 4,4′-diaminobenzophenone, were dissolved in tetrahydrofuran and in bis(2-methoxyethyl) ether at concentrations up to 40 wt %. Reversible phase separation was observed when these systems were heated. Evidence cited indicates that all observed phases are isotropic, notwithstanding the fact that a number of aromatic polyamides are mesogenic.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel polyimides containing stilbene unit in the side chain and their controllability of nematic liquid crystal alignment on the rubbed surfaces

Four polyimides containing hexylene spacer and a fluorostilbene unit in the side chains were prepared in thin‐film form by two‐step condensation of 3,3′‐bis[(4′‐fluoro‐4‐stilbenyl)oxyhexyloxy]‐4,4′‐biphenyldiamine (FS6B) with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), benzophenone‐3,3′,4,4′‐tetracarboxylic dianydride (BTDA), 4,4′‐oxydi(phthalic anhydride) (ODPA), and 4,4′‐hexafluoroisopropylidenedi(phthalic anhydride) (6FDA), respectively, and their controllability of liquid crystal (LC) alignment on rubbed surfaces was investigated. Pretilt angles of LCs were achieved in the 2–9° range, depending on the rubbing density and backbone structures. The effect of the mesogenic stilbene group on the pretilting of LCs was distinctive in FS6B‐PMDA. Contact‐angle measurements on thin films annealed at 120 °C revealed that FS6B‐PMDA potentially had the better alignment stability than FS6B‐6FDA. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3622–3632, 2001     

Synthesis and characterization of polyimides derived from (3‐amino‐2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl)‐(3′‐aminophenyl)methanone and aromatic dianhydrides

A series of new polyimides were prepared via the polycondensation of (3‐amino‐2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl)‐(3′‐aminophenyl)methanone and aromatic dianhydrides, that is, 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), 4,4′‐oxydiphthalic anhydride, 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride, and 2,2′‐bis(3,4‐dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride. The structures of the polyimides were characterized by Fourier transform infrared and NMR measurements. The properties were evaluated by solubility tests, ultraviolet–visible analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The two different meta‐position‐located amino groups with respect to the carbonyl bridge in the diamine monomer provided it with an unsymmetrical structure. This led to a restriction on the close packing of the resulting polymer chains and reduced interchain interactions, which contributed to the solubility increase. All the polyimides except that derived from BPDA had good solubility in strong aprotic solvents, such as N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidinone, N,N′‐dimethylacetamide, N,N‐dimethylformamide, and dimethyl sulfone, and in common organic solvents, such as cyclohexanone and chloroform. In addition, these polyimides exhibited high glass‐transition values and excellent thermal properties, with an initial thermal decomposition temperature above 470 °C and glass‐transition temperatures in the range of 280–320 °C. The polyimide films also exhibited good transparency in the visible‐light region, with transmittance higher than 80% at 450 nm and a cutoff wavelength lower than 370 nm. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1291–1298, 2006     

Novel Non‐Coplanar and Tertbutyl‐Substituted Polyimides: Solubility,Optical, Thermal and Dielectric Properties

A novel aromatic diamine monomer bearing tertbutyl and 4‐tertbutylphenyl groups, 3,3′‐ditertbutyl‐4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl‐4′′‐tertbutylphenylmethane (TADBP), was prepared and characterized. A series of non‐coplanar polyimides (PIs) were synthesized via a conventional one‐step polycondensation from TADBP and various aromatic dianhydrides including pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), 4,4′‐oxydiphthalic anhydride (OPDA), 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)dipthalic anhydride (6FDA). All PIs exhibit excellent solubility in common organic solvents such as N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), chloroform (CHCl₃), tetrahydrofuran (THF), and so on. Furthermore, the obtained transparent, strong and flexible polyimide films present good thermal stability and outstanding optical properties. Their glass transition temperatures (T_gs) are in the range of 298 to 347°C, and 10% weight loss temperatures are in excess of 490°C with more than 53% char yield at 800°C in nitrogen. All the polyimides can be cast into transparent and flexible films with tensile strength of 80.5–101 MPa, elongation at break of 8.4%–10.5%, and Young's modulus of 2.3–2.8 GPa. Meanwhile, the PIs show the cutoff wavelengths of 302–356 nm, as well as low moisture absorption (0.30% –0.55%) and low dielectric constant (2.78–3.12 at 1 MHz).     

Gas‐transport properties of indan‐containing polyimides

A series of indan‐containing polyimides were synthesized, and their gas‐permeation behavior was characterized. The four polyimides used in this study were synthesized from an indan‐containing diamine [5,7‐diamino‐1,1,4,6‐tetramethylindan (DAI)] with four dianhydrides [3,3′4,4′‐benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA), 3,3′4,4′‐oxydiphthalic dianhydride (ODPA), (3,3′4,4′‐biphenyl tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), and 2,2′‐bis(3,4′‐dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride (6FDA)]. The gas‐permeability coefficients of these four polyimides changed in the following order: DAI–BTDA < DAI–ODPA < DAI–BPDA < DAI–6FDA. This was consistent with the increasing order of the fraction of free volume (FFV). Moreover, the gas‐permeability coefficients were almost doubled from DAI–ODPA to DAI–BPDA and from DAI–BPDA to DAI–6FDA, although the FFV differences between the two polyimides were very small. The gas permeability and diffusivity of these indan‐containing polyimides increased with temperature, whereas the permselectivity and diffusion selectivity decreased. The activation energies for the permeation and diffusion of O₂, N₂, CH₄, and CO₂ were estimated. In comparison with the gas‐permeation behavior of other indan‐containing polymers, for these polyimides, very good gas‐permeation performance was found, that is, high gas‐permeability coefficients and reasonably high permselectivity. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2769–2779, 2004     

Organosoluble polyimides and copolyimides based on 1,1‐bis[4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]‐1‐phenylethane and aromatic dianhydrides

1,1‐Bis[4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]‐1‐phenylethane (BAPPE) was prepared through nucleophilic substitution reaction of 1,1‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐1‐phenylethane and p‐chloronitrobenzene in the presence of K₂CO₃ in N,N‐dimethylformamide, followed by catalytic reduction with hydrazine and Pd/C. Novel organosoluble polyimides and copolyimides were synthesized from BAPPE and six kinds of commercial dianhydrides, including pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA, I_a ), 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA, I_b ), 3,3′,4,4′‐ biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA, I_c ), 4,4′‐oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA, I_d ), 3,3′,4,4′‐diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (DSDA, I_e ) and 4,4′‐hexafluoroisopropylidenediphthalic anhydride (6FDA, I_f ). Differing with the conventional polyimide process by thermal cyclodehydration of poly(amic acid), when polyimides were prepared by chemical cyclodehydration with N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone as used solvent, resulted polymers showed good solubility. Additional, I_a,b were mixed respectively with the rest of dianhydrides (I_c–f) and BAPPE at certain molar ratios to prepare copolyimides with arbitrary solubilities. These polyimides and copolyimides were characterized by good mechanical properties together with good thermal stability. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2082–2090, 2000     

Synthesis and characterization of photocrosslinkable,side‐chain,second‐order nonlinear optical poly(ester imide)s with great film‐forming ability and long‐term dipole orientation stability

A series of photocrosslinkable, side‐chain, second‐order nonlinear optical (NLO) poly(ester imide)s (PEIs) based on a chromophore‐containing dianhydride, 2,2′‐{4‐[(4‐nitrophenyl)‐azo]phenyl}iminobis(ethyl benzene‐1,2‐dicarboxylic acid anhydride‐4‐carboxylate), benzophenone‐3,3′,4,4′‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride, and 4,4′‐diamino‐3,3′‐dimethyl diphenylmethane were prepared. The resulting PEIs exhibited many useful physical characteristics, such as good organosolubility, excellent film‐forming properties, high glass‐transition temperatures (186–229 °C), and high thermal decomposition temperatures. The electrooptic coefficient value of PEI3 at 650 nm was 11.5 pm/V, and high long‐term stability of the NLO chromophore alignment in the poled PEI3 film at 120 °C was observed. The temporal stability of the dipole orientation at 150 °C was further enhanced by ultraviolet irradiation because of photocrosslinking. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 303–312, 2003     

Synthesis and Characterization of Fluorinated Polyimide Derived from 3,3′‐Diisopropyl‐4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl‐3′′,4′′‐difluorophenylmethane

A novel aromatic diamine monomer, 3,3′‐diisopropyl‐4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl‐3′′,4′′‐difluorophenylmethane (PAFM), was successfully synthesized by coupling of 2‐isopropylaniline and 3,4‐difluorobenzaldehyde. The aromatic diamine was adopted to synthesize a series of fluorinated polyimides by polycondensation with various dianhydrides: pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), 4,4′‐oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA) and 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) via the conventional one‐step method. These polyimides presented excellent solubility in common organic solvents, such as N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N‐dimethyl acetamide (DMAc), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), chloroform (CHCl₃), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and so on. The glass transition temperatures (T_g) of fluorinated polyimides were in the range of 260–306°C and the temperature at 10% weight loss in the range of 474–502°C. Their films showed the cut‐off wavelengths of 330–361 nm and higher than 80% transparency in a wavelength range of 385–463 nm. Moreover, polymer films exhibited low dielectric properties in the range of 2.76–2.96 at 1 MHz, as well as prominent mechanical properties with tensile strengths of 66.7–97.4 MPa, a tensile modulus of 1.7–2.1 GPa and elongation at break of 7.2%–12.9%. The polymer films also showed outstanding hydrophobicity with the contact angle in the range of 91.2°–97.9°.     

Synthesis and properties of fluorinated polyimides from a new unsymmetrical diamine: 1,4‐(2′‐Trifluoromethyl‐4′,4′‐diaminodiphenoxy)benzene

A new aromatic, unsymmetrical ether diamine with a trifluoromethyl pendent group, 1,4‐(2′‐trifluoromethyl‐4′,4″‐diaminodiphenoxy)benzene, was successfully synthesized in three steps with hydroquinone as a starting material and polymerized with various aromatic tetracarboxylic acid dianhydrides, including 4,4′‐oxydiphthalic anhydride, 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride, 2,2′‐bis(3,4‐dicarboxyphenyl)‐hexafluoropropane dianhydride, and pyromellitic dianhydride, via a conventional two‐step thermal or chemical imidization method to produce a series of fluorinated polyimides. The polyimides were characterized with solubility tests, viscosity measurements, IR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction studies, and thermogravimetric analysis. The polyimides had inherent viscosities of 0.56–0.77 dL/g and were easily dissolved in both polar, aprotic solvents and common, low‐boiling‐point solvents. The resulting strong and flexible polyimide films exhibited excellent thermal stability, with decomposition temperatures (at 5% weight loss) above 522 °C and glass‐transition temperatures in the range of 232–272 °C. Moreover, the polymer films showed outstanding mechanical properties, with tensile strengths of 74.5–121.7 MPa, elongations at break of 6–13%, and initial moduli of 1.46–1.95 GPa, and good dielectric properties, with low dielectric constants of 1.82–2.53 at 10 MHz. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction measurements revealed that these polyimides were predominantly amorphous. These outstanding combined features ensure that the polymers are desirable candidate materials for advanced microelectronic applications. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6836–6846, 2006     

Unprecedented Strong Lewis Bases—Synthesis and Methyl Cation Affinities of Dimethylamino‐Substituted Terpyridines

A versatile method for the synthesis of functionalized 2,2′:6′,2′′‐terpyridines by assembly of the terminal pyridine rings is presented. The cyclization precursors—bis‐β‐ketoenamides—are prepared from 4‐substituted 2,6‐pyridinedicarboxylic acids and acetylacetone or its corresponding enamino ketone. Treatment with trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate induces a twofold intramolecular condensation providing an efficient access to 4,4′′‐di‐ and 4,4′,4′′‐trifunctionalized 6,6′′‐dimethyl‐2,2′:6′,2′′‐terpyridines. Using this method, hitherto unknown 4,4′′‐bis(dimethylamino)‐ and 4,4′,4′′‐tris(dimethylamino)terpyridines have been prepared that show remarkably high calculated Lewis basicities.     

Synthesis and properties of novel polyimides from sulfonated binaphthalene dianhydride for proton exchange membranes

A sulfonated dianhydride monomer, 6,6′‐disulfonic‐4,4′‐binaphthyl‐1,1′,8,8′‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride (SBTDA), was successfully synthesized by direct sulfonation of the parent dianhydride, 4,4′‐binaphthyl‐1,1′,8,8′‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA), using fuming sulfuric acid as the sulfonating reagent. A series of sulfonated homopolyimides were prepared from SBTDA and various common nonsulfonated diamines. The resulting polymer electrolytes, which contain ion conductivity sites on the deactivated positions of the aryl backbone rings, displayed high proton conductivities of 0.25–0.31 S cm^?1 at 80 °C. The oxidative stability test indicated that the attachment of the ? SO₃H groups onto the dianhydride units did not deteriorate the oxidative stability of the SPI membranes. The better membranes were achieved by the copolymerization of nonsulfonated diamine, SBTDA, and BTDA. Copolymer membrane synthesized from hexane‐1,6‐diamine, SBTDA, and BTDA displayed excellent water stability of more than 1000 h at 90 °C, while its proton conductivity was still at a high level (comparable to that of Nafion 117). Furthermore, the novel block copolymer ( II‐b ) displayed higher proton conductivity compared with the random one ( II‐r ) obviously, probably due to the slightly higher water uptake and better microphase separated morphology. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 2820–2832, 2008     

Highly Soluble and Green Indigo Dyes: 4,4′,7,7′‐Tetraalkoxy‐5,5′‐diaminoindigotins

Two new types of 4,4′,7,7′‐tetraalkoxyindigotins, 1a – f and 2a – f along with the new N‐substituted indigotins 4e – f , were synthesized from dinitrobenzaldehydes 5a – f , which were prepared from 2‐hydroxy‐5‐methoxybenzaldehyde ( 7 ) via dialkoxybenzaldehydes 6a – f (Scheme). The new dialkoxyindigotin 3g was obtained from dialkoxybenzaldehyde 6g via nitrobenzaldehyde 8g . The 1,4‐dialkoxy‐2,3‐dinitrobenzenes 9 were isolated as by‐products. The 4,4′,7,7′‐tetraalkoxy‐5,5′‐diaminoindigotins 1 are soluble in organic solvents, and their solutions are green, which is highly uncommon for indigotins and is primarily caused by electronic effects of substituents, steric effects playing a minor role. The indigotins 1 produce a strong red shift of the longest‐wavelength absorption and negative solvatochromism indicating the predominance of polar resonance structures in the ground state. Tautomeric structures were excluded. These indigotins are valuable compounds for technical applications, for synthetic purposes, and for analytical studies. SANS (Small‐angle neutron scattering) experiments showed that certain 4,4′,7,7′‐tetraalkoxy‐5,5′‐diaminoindigotins 1 form rod‐like aggregates in solution. The similarly substituted 4,4′,7,7′‐tetraalkoxy‐5,5′‐dinitroindigotins 2 are far less soluble. They produce red monoanions (preferably dimers) and bluish‐purple dianions in organic solvents.     

Synthesis and memory characteristics of highly organo‐soluble hyperbranched polyimides with various electron acceptors

A series of hyperbranched polyimides (HBPIs) were synthesized by reacting a triamine monomer N ,N ′,N ″‐tris(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐N ,N ′,N ″‐tris(4‐phenylamino)?1,3,5‐benzenetriamine with various dianhydrides such as oxydiphthalic dianhydride (ODPA), 3,3′,4,4′‐diphenylsulfonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (DSDA), 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA), and pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA). The hyperbranched polyimide (6FHBPI) using 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) as dianhydride monomer was also added into the discussion. All the hyperbranched polyimides exhibited excellent organo‐solubility and high thermal stability. Memory devices with a sandwiched structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/HBPI/Al were constructed by using these HBPIs as the active layers. All these HBPIs based memory devices exhibited favorable memory performances, with switching voltages between ?1.3 V and ?2.5 V, ON/OFF current ratios up to 10⁷ and retention times long to 10⁴ s. Tunable memory characteristics from electrical insulator to volatile memory, and then to nonvolatile memory were obtained by adjusting the electron acceptors of these HBPIs. Molecular simulation results suggested that the electron affinity and the dipole moment of these HBPIs were responsible for the conversion of the memory characteristics. With the electron affinity and dipole moment of these HBPIs increasing, the memory characteristics turned from volatile to nonvolatile. The present study suggested that tunable memory performance could be achieved through adjusting the acceptor moieties of the hyperbranched polyimides. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55 , 2281–2288     

High‐pressure sorption of carbon dioxide and methane in all‐aromatic poly(etherimide)‐based membranes

The sorption of compressed carbon dioxide and methane in a series of all‐aromatic poly(etherimide) (PEI) thin films is presented. The polymer films are derived from the reactions between an arylether diamine (P1) and four different dianhydrides [3,3′,4,4′‐oxydiphthalic dianhydride (ODPA), 3,3′,4,4′ biphenyltetra‐carboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), 3,3′,4,4′‐benzo‐phenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA), and pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA)] that have been selected to systematically change the flexibility of the polymer backbone, the segmental mobility, and the nonequilibrium excess free volume (EFV) of the polymer. The EFV, gas sorption capacities, and sorption‐ and temperature‐induced dynamic changes in film thickness and refractive index have been investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The sorption capacity depends to a great extent on the PEI backbone composition. PMDA‐P1 shows the highest carbon dioxide sorption, combined with the lowest sorption selectivity because of the predominant sorption of methane in the EFV. For ODPA‐P1, the highest sorption selectivity is obtained, while it shows little long‐term relaxations at carbon dioxide pressures up to 25 bar. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 986–993