Abstract: | New polymer-forming monomers, 3-benzylidene-5-chloroformylphthalide and 3-benzylidene-6-chloroformylphthalide, were synthesized by the Perkin reaction of trimellitic anhydride with phenylacetic acid, followed by chlorination. The polycondensation of these monomers with aromatic diamines in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone at 200°C afforded aromatic polyamide-phthalimidines having inherent viscosities of 0.2-0.5 dL/g. All the polymers were readily soluble in m-cresol, pyridine, dimethylformamide, and dimethyl sulfoxide. Glass transition temperatures of some of the polymers were in the range of 255–282°C. The polyamide-phthalimidines began to lose weight at around 300°C in both air and nitrogen atmospheres, with 10% weight losses being recorded at 435–475°C in nitrogen by thermogravimetry. |