Polymer, Vol.40, No.24, 6865-6871, 1999
Synthesis of fluorinated poly(phenylquinoxaline-amide)s and study of thin films made therefrom
A series of five fluorinated poly(phenylquinoxaline-amide)s were synthesized by a polycondensation reaction of a diacid chloride containing the hexafluoroisopropylidene (6F) group, namely 2,2-bis(p-chlorocarbonylphenyl)-hexafluoropropane, with various aromatic diamines incorporating two phenyl-substituted quinoxaline rings. These polymers were easily soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as N-methyl-pyrrolione (NMP), dimethylformamide (DMF), and tetrahydrofurane (THF), and showed a high thermal stability with decomposition temperatures above 400 degrees C and glass transition temperatures in the range of 260-290 degrees C. Polymer solutions in NMP were processed into free-standing films that showed low dielectric constant values, in the range of 3.4-3.9, and good mechanical properties, with tensile strength in the range of 40-80 MPa and elongation to break in the range of 22-55%. Very thin films, in the range of tens of nanometer, which were deposited onto silicon wafers exhibited very smooth surfaces, free of pinholes when studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM).