Thermal degradation behaviour of novel wholly para-oriented aromatic polyamide-hydrazides containing sulfone-ether linkages

Thermal stability and degradation behaviour of a series of novel wholly para-oriented aromatic polyamide-hydrazides containing flexibilising sulfone-ether linkages in their main chains have been investigated in nitrogen and in air using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and elemental analysis. All of these polymers have similar structural formula except for the presence of sulfone, ether, or sulfone-ether linking groups between appropriate aromatic nuclei in their main chains. The influence of incorporation of these linkages on the thermal stability and degradation behaviour of these polymers has also been studied. The polymers were prepared by a low temperature solution polycondensation reaction of 4-amino-3-hydroxybenzhydrazide (4A3HBH) and an equimolar amount of either 4,4′-sulfonyl dibenzoyl chloride (SDBC), 4,4′-sulfonyl bis (1,4-phenylene)dioxy] dibenzoyl chloride (SODBC), 4,4′-sulfonyl bis (2,6-dimethyl- 1,4-phenylene)dioxy] dibenzoyl chloride (4MeSODBC), or 4,4′-(1,4-phenylenedioxy)dibenzoyl chloride (ODBC) in anhydrous N,N-dimethyl acetamide (DMAc) as a solvent at −10 °C. A related polyamide-hydrazide without the flexibilising linkages is also investigated for comparison. It was synthesized from 4A3HBH and terephthaloyl chloride (TCl) by the same synthetic route. The results clearly reveal that these polymers are characterized by high thermal stability. Their weight loss occurred in three distinctive steps. The first was small and was assigned to the evaporation of absorbed moisture. The second was appreciable and was attributed to the cyclodehydration reaction of the o-hydroxy polyamide-hydrazides into the corresponding poly (1,3,4-oxadiazolyl-benzoxazoles) by losing water. This is not a true degradation, but rather a thermo-chemical transformation reaction. The third was relatively severe and sharp, particularly in air, and corresponded to the decomposition of the resulting poly(1,3,4-oxadiazolyl-benzoxazoles). There is a slight shift of the decomposition temperature of these polymers to a lower temperature as the sulfone-ether linkages were introduced into the polymer chains. The decomposition seems to start by breaking the sulfonyl groups as confirmed from DSC measurements. The results also indicate that the incorporation of the flexibilising linkages into the polymer main chains did not seem to significantly influence the thermal stability of these polymers in comparison with that of the polymer free from these linkages.