Two aromatic, pyridine-based ether diamines were prepared by nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction of 4-aminophenol and also 5-amino-l-naphthol with 2,6-dichloropyridine in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone as solvent. Reactions of these two diamines with trimellitic anhydride to prepare poly(ether amide imide)s were investigated via five different methods. Efficiency of the methods was compared and physical properties of the polymers including thermal behavior, thermal stability, solubility, and solution viscosity were studied. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.