Synthesis and characterization of new soluble aromatic polyamides based on4-(1-adamantyl)-1, 3-bis(4-aminophenoxy) benzene

A set of new aromatic polyamides were synthesized by the direct phosphoryla tion condensation of 4-(1-adamantyl)-1,3-bis-(4-aminophenoxy)benzene with v arious diacids. The polymers were produced with high yields and moderate to high inherent viscosities (0.43-1.03 dL/g), and the weight-average molecul ar weights and number-average molecular weights, determined by gel permeati on chromatography, were in the range of 37,000-93,000 and 12,000-59,000, re spectively. The polyamides were essentially amorphous and soluble in a vari ety of solvents such as N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc), cyclohexanone, and te trahydrofuran. They showed glass-transition temperatures in the range of 24 0-300 degrees C (differential scanning calorimetry) and 10% weight-loss tem peratures over 450 degrees C, as revealed by thermogravimetric analysis in nitrogen. All the polymers gave strong films via casting from DMAc solution s, and these films exhibited good mechanical properties, with tensile stren gths in the range of 77-92 MPa and tensile moduli between 1.5 and 2.5 GPa. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.