SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW SOLUBLE POLYAMIDES BASED ON TRAMETHYL-2,2-BIS[4-(4-AMINOPHENOXY)PHENYL]PROPANE AND VARIOUS AROMATIC DICARBOXYLIC-ACIDS

A series of new soluble polyamides having isopropylidene-and methyl-su bstituted arylene ether moieties in the polymer chain were prepared by the direct polycondensation of 5,5'-tetramethyl-2,2-bis[4-(4-aminophe noxy)phenyl] propane (TBAPP) and various aromatic dicarboxylic acids i n N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) using triphenyl phosphite and pyridin e as condensing agents. Polymers were produced with high yield and mod erate to high inherent viscosities of 0.87-1.56 dL g(-1). All the poly mers could be readily dissolved in polar aprotic solvents such as NMP, N,N-dimethylacetamide and N,N-dimethylformamide, as well as less pola r solvents such as m-cresol and pyridine. Some of them were even solub le in tetrahydrofuran. These polymers were solution-cast into transpar ent, flexible, tough films which were further characterized by x-ray a nd mechanical analysis. All of the polymers were amorphous and the pol yamide films had a tensile strength range of 51-100 MPa, an elongation at break range of 4-11%, and a tensile modulus range of 1.90-2.53 GPa . These polyamides had glass transition temperatures between 188-255 d egrees C: and 10% mass loss temperatures in the range of 439-468 and 4 54-483 degrees C in nitrogen and air atmosphere, respectively. (C) 199 8 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.