Polyimide films have conventionally been prepared by thermal imidization of poly(amic acid)s (PAAs). Here we report that the improvement of tensile strength while increasing (or maintaining) film flexibility of polyimide films was accomplished by simple microwave (MW) irradiation of the PAAs. This improvement in mechanical properties can be attributed to the increase in molecular weight of the polyimides by MW irradiation. Our results show that the mechanical properties of polyimide films can be improved by MW irradiation, which is a green approach that requires relatively low MW power, very short irradiation time, and no incorporation of any additional inorganic substance.
Keywords: end group reaction; film flexibility; microwave; molecular weight; polyimide film; tensile strength.