Synthesis of TEMPO Functionalized Polyimides by A₂ + B₃ polymerization

Abstract

Three different polymerization methods were studied for the A₂ + B₃ polymerization to provide a TEMPO functionalized polyimides. The one-pot polymerization/imidization and the precipitation polymerization provided a microporous polyimide and a spherical polyimide, respectively; however, the functionalization of the terminals was difficult. In contrast, the solution polymerization with a drop-wise feeding method provided a hyperbranched polyimides and the terminals have been successfully functionalized with TEMPO by the in-situ end-capping reaction. This polymerization and end-capping method will be applicable for the introduction of other various functionalities and might result in the development of various novel polyimide materials.