Abstract
Thermoplastic and addition curing polyimides based on non-coplanar 2,2',6,6'-tetrarnethylbenzidine (TMBZ) were prepared and investigated. The TMBZ based thermoplastic polyimides displayed high Tg values, enhanced solubility and excellent thermal stability. These high-mnolecular-weight polyimides could be either cast into optically transparent thin films or spun into fibres. The addition curing polyimides based on TMBZ exhibited higher Tg values than the corresponding PMR-1I type polyimides, due to the increased rotational barrier created by the substituents on the biphenyl moiety. However, the methyl substituents on the TMBZ inherently lowered the thermo-oxidative stability of TMBZ based polyimides, relative to the corresponding PMR-II type polyimides.
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