Microwave-assisted synthesis of high thermal stability and colourless polyimides containing pyridine

A novel aromatic diamine containing pyridyl side group, 4-pyridine-4,4-bis(3,5-dimethyl-5-aminophenyl)methane (PyDPM), was successfully synthesized via electrophilic substitution reaction. The polyimides (PIs) containing pyridine were obtained via the microwave-assisted one-step polycondensation of the PyDPM with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), 3,3′,4,4′-diphenylether tetracarboxylic dianhydride (ODPA) and 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA). Contrarily to the reported similar PIs, these PIs exhibit much higher thermal stability or heat resistance, i.e. high glass transition temperatures (T(g)s) in the range of 358–473°C, and the decomposition temperatures at 5% weight loss over 476°C under nitrogen. They can afford flexible and strong films with tensile strength of 82.1–93.3 MPa, elongation at break of 3.7%–15.2%, and Young's modulus of 3.3–3.8 GPa. Furthermore, The PI films exhibit good optical transparency with the cut-off wavelength at 313–366 nm and transmittance higher than 73% at 450 nm. The excellent thermal and optical transmittance can be attributed to synthesis method and the introduction of pyridine rings and ortho-methyl groups. The inherent viscosities of PIs via one-step method were found to be 0.58–1.12 dl g(−1) in DMAc, much higher than those via two-step method. These results indicate these PIs could be potential candidates for optical substrates of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).