ABSTRACT
Polyimides are polymers containing an imide linkage as either an open-chain structure or as a heterocyclic unit in the polymer backbone. Although a few articles about polyimides with an openchain imide linkage have been reported [1], a vast number of papers have been published about the synthesis and applications of polyimides with heterocyclic units, ever since the first report concerning polyimides was published by Bogert and Renshaw [2] in 1908. However, it was only in the early 1960s that polyimides were successfully introduced as commercial polymeric materials by E.I. du Pont de Nemours [3-7]. In general, polyimides are aromatic polymers composed of fivemembered aromatic imide units and aromatic rings in the repeating unit, being ranked among
16.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 491 16.2 Polymer Synthesis ................................................................................................................. 493
16.2.1 Polyimides by Polycondensation .............................................................................. 493 16.2.1.1 Polyimides via Precursors from Dianhydrides and Their Derivatives ...... 493 16.2.1.2 Polyimides from Dianhydrides and Diisocyanates or Derivatives ............ 495 16.2.1.3 Polyimides from Dianhydrides and Disilylated Diamines ........................ 495 16.2.1.4 Polyimides from Diimides and Their Derivatives ..................................... 496 16.2.1.5 Miscellaneous Synthesis ............................................................................ 496
16.2.2 Polyaddition .............................................................................................................. 497 16.2.2.1 Diels-Alder Reaction ................................................................................. 497 16.2.2.2 Michael Addition ....................................................................................... 498
16.3 Design and Synthesis of Organic-Soluble and/or Melt-Processable (Thermoplastic) Polyimides ............................................................................................................................ 498 16.3.1 Aromatic Polyimides ................................................................................................ 498 16.3.2 Aliphatic-Aromatic Polyimides ...............................................................................500
16.4 Characterization .................................................................................................................... 501 16.5 Structures and Properties .....................................................................................................502
