Synthesis and properties of new aromatic polyisophthalamides with adamantylamide pendent groups

A new diacid monomer containing a pendent adamantyl ring was reacted with various aromatic diamines to prepare novel aromatic polyisophthalamides (PIPAs). The polymers were obtained in high yield and high molecular weight by the Yamazaki‐Higashi phosphorylation method of polycondensation. Inherent viscosities ranged from 0.40 to 0.82 dL/g, which corresponds to weight‐average and number‐average molecular weights (GPC) in the range 21,000–63,000 g/mol and 9000–31,000 g/mol, respectively. The polymers were essentially amorphous and soluble in a variety of polar aprotic solvents, and they afforded transparent, creasable films by the solution‐casting method. The great size of the polyhedral adamantyl moiety brought about a significant restriction of segmental mobility, which translated into a strong increase of T_g, so that very high glass transition temperatures were observed, in the range 335–370 °C (DSC), which are 70–90 °C above the glass transition temperatures of homologous PIPAs without pendent groups. Thus, it can be stated that these adamantyl containing polyamides are among the soluble aromatic PIPAs with highest T_g ever described. Conversely, the initial decomposition temperature, as measured by thermogravimetric analysis, was about 400 °C, which is lower by 40–70° than that of unsubstituted counterparts. Polymer films exhibited good mechanical properties, with tensile strengths over 65 MPa and tensile moduli between 2.0 and 2.6 GPa. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1743–1751, 2010