A new category of thermally stable poly(ether amide ether imide)s with increased solubility

Two new poly(ether amide ether imide)s (PEAEIs) were prepared from a new diamine (DA) containing ether, aliphatic, amide, naphthyl and pyridine functional groups that resulted flexible and thermally stable ultimate polymers. The DA was synthesized via two steps, starting from nucleophilic substitution reaction of 1,8-diamino-3,6-dioxaoctane with 6-chloronicotinoyl chloride in the presence of propylene oxide which, afforded dichloro-diamide (DCDA) compound. In the second step for the preparation of DA, reaction of DCDA compound with 5-amino-1-naphthol in the presence of K2CO3 was achieved. The new DA was then polycondensed with 2,2'-bis-(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride and pyromellitic dianhydride to produce PEAEIs. The precursor, monomer and obtained polymers were entirely characterized by FT-IR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis techniques. The physical properties of the polymers including solubility, thermal behavior, thermal stability, inherent viscosity, morphology and mechanical properties were studied. The new PEAEIs exhibited favorable balance of physical and thermal properties, and their solubility was improved without sacrificing their thermal stability. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.