Synthesis of bulky bis(ether anhydride)s and poly(ether imide)s with bulky main-chain units

A series of bis(ether anhydride)s has been synthesized from very bulky bisphenols. Poly(ether imide)s have been synthesized from these bis(ether anhydride)s and two diamines in order to provide a series of poly(ether imide)s with bulky main-chain units. The polymers have been characterized in terms of molecular weight, solubility, glass-transition temperature and thermal stability in order to identify a series of high-performance polymers which are processable and potentially useful for applications which require soluble poly(ether imide)s for fabrication into, for example, gas separation membranes.