Adamantane-Containing Polymers

Adamantane is a rigid ring system comprised of three fused chair conformation cyclohexane rings. Its excellent thermal stability, bulkiness, and tetrahedral geometry lead to improved physical properties such as stiffness, glass transition temperature (Tg), and solubility. Star polymers include polyaramids and polybenzoxazoles based on adamantane and biadamantane. All hydrocarbon three-dimensional networks use acetylene, phenylacetylene, or diphenylacetylene groups attached at the bridgehead positions with thermal polymerization or nickel catalyzed reactions of iodophenyl groups attached directly to the bridgehead positions. Pendent adamantane groups were incorporated into acrylates, phenolics, poly(phenylenes), and poly(ether ether ketones). Each type shows a large increase in Tg and thermal properties over the linear, unsubstituted polymer