High Perform. Polym. 12 (2000) 213–223. Printed in the UK PII: S0954-0083(00)09467-8 Chemistry and properties of imide oligomers from phenylethynyl-containing diamines

Abstract. As an extension of work on pendent phenylethynyl-containing imide oligomers, three new diamines containing pendent phenylethynyl groups were prepared and characterized. These diamines were used to prepare pendent and pendent and terminal phenylethynyl imide oligomers via the amide acid route in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone at a calculated number average molecular weight of 5000 g mol−1. The pendent phenylethynyl groups were randomly distributed along the oligomer backbone and provided a means of controlling the distance between reactive sites. The imide oligomers were characterized and thermally cured, and the cured polymers evaluated as thin films and compared with materials of similar composition prepared from 3,5-diamino-40-phenylethynylbenzophenone. This work was performed as part of a continuing research effort to develop structural resins for potential aeronautical applications. 1