Synthesis and characterization of AB-type monomers and polyimides: a review

Thermally stable/high-performance polymers are able to provide long-term service at elevated temperatures. The development of different thermally stable polymers is continued due to the large requirement of high-temperature polymers. Polyimides (PI) and their copolyimides are well-established class of high-performance polymers that show good combination of thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. These stable PI are widely used in electrical, electronics, automotive, and aerospace industries. This article reviews the synthesis and characterization of AB-type monomers, AB-type PI, and copolyimides having different structures. AB-type PI are synthesized by self-condensation of AB-type monomers. The requirement of stoichiometric equivalence to obtain high-molecular-weight polyimide will be easily met by using AB-type monomers. This discussion covers different structures of AB-type monomers based PI and their properties. The variations in the structure of the monomers have effect on the properties of the final PI. The structure–property relationships also have been discussed.