THERMOPLASTIC ELASTOMERS. II. POLY(ETHER-ESTER-IMIDE)S BASED ON 1,4-DIAMINOBUTANE,TRIMELLITIC ANHYDRIDE, 1,4-DIHYDROXYBUTANE,AND POLY(ETHYLENE OXIDE)S

A series of new poly(ether-ester-imide)s, PEEIs, was prepared from an imide dicarboxylic acid based on 1,4-diaminobutane and trimellitic anhydride. This imide dicarboxylic acid polycondensed with 1,4-dihydroxybutane formed the hard segments and poly(ethylene oxide), PEO-1000, or mixtures of PEO-1000 and poly(tetramethylene oxide), PTMO-1000, were used as soft segments. Whenever PTMO-1000 was used as comonomer, macrophase separation was observed at the end of the polycondensation. However, this macrophase separation had little influence on the mechanical properties. A poly(ether-esterimide), PEEI, containing neat PEO-1000 was characterized by dynamic mechanical thermoanalysis, stress-strain and hysteresis measurements, and by melt rheology. The mechanical properties were compared with those of an analogous PEEI containing neat PTMO-1000 and with those of a poly(ether-ester), PEE, based on poly(butylene terephthalate) hard segments and PTMO-1000.