A series of novel polyamide-ethers (PAEs) based on bis-imidazole containing bulky aryl pendant groups was prepared by direct polycondensation of a diamine, 4-(1-(4-(4-(2-(4-aminophenyl)-4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenoxy)phenyl)-4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzenamine (DABI), and various dicarboxylic acids. All the resulting polyamide-ethers were amorphous with inherent viscosities ranged from 0.52 to 0.61 dL/g and were readily soluble in many organic solvents which could be solution-cast into transparent and tough films. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of these polymers were affected considerably by their chemical structure and ranged from 230 to 310 ºC. They had useful levels of thermal stability associated with relatively high temperatures of 10% weight loss (T10) in the range of 329-399 ºC in air atmosphere.
Polyamide-ether; polycondensation; solubility; thermal properties; bis-imidazole
