Abstract: | Organosoluble polyimides were synthesized with the alicyclic dianhydride 1,8‐dimethylbicyclo2,2,2]oct‐7‐ene‐2,3,5,6‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride and aromatic diamines. The polyimides possessed good solubility both in strong dipolar solvents and in common solvents; the thermal decomposition temperature of the polyimides exceeded 420 °C. Strong and flexible films of the polyimides, with the cutoff of ultraviolet–visible absorption lower than 310–320 nm, exhibited good features as the alignment layers for nematic liquid crystals with pretilt angles of 1.5–2.9°. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 110–119, 2002 |