Rm. Jennings et Rj. Farris, FORMATION OF A HIGHLY ORDERED POLY(N,N'-BIS-PHENOXYPHENYLPYROMELLITIMIDE) POWDER USING A HIGH-PRESSURE CURING TECHNIQUE, Journal of polymer science. Part B, Polymer physics, 32(8), 1994, pp. 1457-1464
A high-pressure curing technique was developed to help determine the e
ffects of solvent presence during the thermal curing of the polyimide
poly(N,N'-bis-phenoxyphenylpyromellitimide) (PMDA-ODA). A powder form
of this aromatic polyimide was produced from a polyamic acid solution
using the high-pressure thermal curing technique. Preliminary characte
rization of the powder indicates a high degree of crystallinity with a
measured density of 1.46 +/- 0.01 g/cm3 and a distinct melting point
of 594-degrees-C. The addition of chemical curing agents to the polyam
ic acid solution prior to thermal treatment reduced the amount of crys
tallinity observed in the cured material. Molecular weight measurement
s of the polyamic acid precursor and powder suggest that the high degr
ee of order observed in the powder is a result of degradation during c
ure. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.