POLYIMIDE-SILICA HYBRID MATERIALS BASED ON P-AMINOPHENYLTRIMETHOXYSILANE TERMINATED POLY(AMIC ACID)S

Polyimide-silica hybrid materials with covalently bound phases were pr epared via a sol-gel process. The starting materials were p-aminopheny ltrimethoxysilane terminated poly(amic acid)s of controlled molecular weight ranging from 5000 to 10000 g mol(-1) and tetramethoxysilane. Op tical transparency of the final films increases with the number of bon ds between phases.;The dependence of the thermal and mechanical proper ties and morphology on the silica content and/or concentration of bond s between phases were studied.