A new series of colorless polyimides (CPIs) with outstanding thermal properties and mechanical properties were fabricated by the copolymerization of a novel dianhydride and 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) with 2,2'-bistrifluoromethyl benzidine (TFDB). The novel dianhydride, 10-oxo-9-phenyl-9-(trifluoromethyl)-9,10-dihydroanthracene-2,3,6,7-tetraacid dianhydride (3FPODA), possessed a rigid semi-alicyclic structure, -CF3 and phenyl side groups, and an active carbonyl group. Benefitting from the special structure of 3FPODA, the glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the new CPIs improved from 330 °C to 377 °C, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) decreased from 46 ppm/K to 24 ppm/K, and the tensile strength (TS), tensile modulus (TM), and elongation at break (EB) increased from 84 MPa to 136 MPa, 3.2 GPa to 4.4 GPa, and 2.94% to 4.13% with the increasing amount of 3FPODA, respectively. Moreover, the active carbonyl group of the 3FPODA could enhance the CPI's adhesive properties. These results render the new dianhydride 3FPODA an ideal candidate monomer for the fabrication of high-performance CPIs.
Keywords: coefficient of thermal expansion; colorless polyimide; glass transition temperatures; new dianhydride.