Syntheses and thermostabilities of N-[4-(N′-substituted aminocarbonyl)phenyl]maleimide polymers

Three types of novel N-4-(N′-substituted aminocarbonyl)phenyl] maleimide (RPhMI: N-substituent (R) = phenyl, cyclohexyl, and cyclododecyl) were synthesized and homopolymerized under several conditions. In the copolymerizations of RPhMI (M₁) with styrene (ST; M₂) or methyl methacrylate (MMA; M₂), monomer reactivity ratios and Alfrey-Price Q, e values were determined. All homopolymers decomposed without softening and melting points. The initial degradation temperatures (T_d) of poly(RPhMI)s were over 320°C. The glass transition temperatures (T_g) of RPhMI copolymers were much higher than those of N-phenylmaleimide (PhMI)–ST, PhMI–MMA, N-cyclohexylmaleimide (CHMI)–ST, and CHMI–MMA copolymers. Thermal stability of the terpolymers of RPhMI with ST and acrylonitrile (AN) was higher than that of ST–AN copolymers, i.e., AS resin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. A Polym. Chem. 36: 2001–2012, 1998