One-pot synthesis of polyimides via Ni-catalyzed coupling of bis(chlorophthalimide)s

A one-pot synthesis method for the preparation of polyimides containing biphenyl units was developed via nickel-catalyzed coupling reaction of bis(chlorophthalimide)s which were prepared from chlorophthalic anhydrides and diamines in xylene. The resulting polyimides had inherent viscosities of above 0.60 dL g^-1. In the meantime, the copolymerizations from a mixture of three isomeric bis(chlorophthalimide)s gave the polymers with inherent viscosities of 0.36-0.55 g dL^-1. The solubility and film formability of the copolymers were better than those of homopolymers from bis(4-chlorophthalimide). The 10% weight loss of these polyimides was between 470 and 531 °C.