Poly(amic acid)s vs. polyimides with π-conjugated –N N- units: Cis-trans isomerization reaction and kinetics of thermal imidization

Abstract The paper describes the synthesis and characterization of “T-type” polyimides and their precursors – poly(amic acid)s. Investigated polymers contained azobenzene derivatives with no substituent or with fluorine atom in para position to the N N linkage. The influence of the main chain architecture (open or close imide rings), location and content of azo chromophores in polymers chains on physicochemical properties were studied. To the best of our knowledge, for the first time, the cis-trans isomerization reaction was studied for azo poly(amic acid)s, that was 1–18% after 3-minutes of 405 nm-light irradiation. Poly(amic acid)s characterized higher stability of isomerization than their polyimide counterparts. The studied azo polyimides showed high glass transition temperatures (174–206 °C) and high thermal stability with the beginning of the decomposition at 246–345 °C. The imidization kinetic of the studied poly (amic acid)s were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) using Kissinger and Ozawa models. It was found that the studied azo polymers characterized high activation energies (275.4–357.1 kJ mol−1) and frequency factors (6.5 × 1029–1.3 × 1037 s−1).