THE SYNTHESIS OF SOLUBLE POLYIMIDES

Polyimides as a class of materials have found application in areas that require robust thermal properties, high chemical resistance and/or low dielectric constants. Processing of polyimides, however, has not been a trivial matter. While excellent thermal stability and chemical resistance are useful in end applications, these features render processing difficult. A good deal of recent research has gone into developing processable polyimide materials while sacrificing as few favorable properties as possible. This review covers developments in the area of soluble, fully imidized materials. Novel monomers, copolymers and new synthetic methods are outlined.