A diblock copolymer based on poly(p-benzamide) (PBA) and poly(2-phenyl
ene-(5-benzimidazole))isophthalamide (PABI) was synthesized by direct
coupling reaction between acylchloride and amino end groups of the two
homopolymers. Soxhlet extraction with N,N'-dimethylacetamide complete
ly removed unreacted PABI and allowed determination of copolymer conte
nt and composition of the unextracted fraction (by u.v. data and visco
sity measurements). Preliminary results on phase behaviour are given a
nd analysed in terms of block length.