Partially bio-based aromatic polyimides derived from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid with high thermal and mechanical properties

Two novel bio-based diamines are synthesized through introduction of renewable 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (2,5-FDCA), and the corresponding aromatic polyimides (PIs) are then prepared by these diamines with commercially available aromatic dianhydrides via two-step polycondensation. The partially bio-based PIs possess high glass transition temperatures ( T g s) in the range from 266 to 364 °C, high thermal stability of 5% weight loss temperatures ( T 5% s) over 420 °C in nitrogen and outstanding mechanical properties with tensile strengths of 79–138 MPa, tensile moduli of 2.5–5.4 GPa, and elongations at break of 3.0–12.3%. Some colorless PI films (PI-1-b and PI-1-c) with the transmittances at 450 nm over 85% are prepared. The overall properties of 2,5-FDCA-based PIs are comparable with petroleum-based PI derived from isophthalic acid, displaying the potential for development of innovative bio-based materials. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56 , 1058–1066