A novel pyridine-containing aromatic diamine monomer, 2,2′-bis[4-(6-amino-3-pyridinoxy) phenyl] propane, was synthesized through nucleophilic substitution reaction. A series of polyimides (PIs) were obtained by the polycondensation reaction of synthesized monomer with four commercial dianhydrides. The structure and properties of the resulting PIs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction. The PIs exhibited good thermal stability with glass transition temperature of 231 to 303 ^oC by DSC and 205 to 274 ^oC by DMA. The temperature at 5% weight loss was 478 to 501 ^oC in nitrogen atmosphere, and the residual mass range at 800 ^oC was 42-55%. The excellent mechanical properties included tensile strength of 98-102 MPa, elongation at break of 6-18%, and tensile modulus of 2.8-3.0 GPa. The cut-off wavelength ranged from 391-440 nm, indicating that the resulting PIs had desirable optical performance.

Keywords: polyimides, pyridine heterocyclic ring, synthesis, structure and properties