FTIR STUDIES OF PMR-15 POLYIMIDES

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows that during the curing of PMR-15 polyimide, formation of an anhydride intermediate occurs prior to the formation of polyamic acid, suggesting that its origin is the diester diacid starting material, as has recently been proposed by Johnston and coworkers. These results disagree with some previous literature reports that have attributed formation of the anhydride to a degradation pathway of polyamic acid and confirm the validity of a recently published paper by Johnston and coworkers.