New Thermally Stable Poly(Ester-Imide)s Containing Phenoxymethyl Moieties as Flexible Groups in the Main Chain: Synthesis and Characterization

Several new poly(ester-imide)s were prepared by direct polycondensation reaction of 1,1-bis[4-(trimellitimido)phenoxy]methane 6 with various aromatic diols 7a-f in a system of tosyl chloride (TsCl), pyridine (Py), and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The reactions with TsCl were significantly promoted by controlling alcoholysis with diols, in the presence of catalytic amounts of DMF, to give a series of poly(ester-imide)s. The resulted polymers were characterized by FTIR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Also, thermal properties of the PEIs 8a-f were investigated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).