A novel spiro(fluorene-9,9'-xanthene) skeleton bis(ether amine) monomer, 2',7'-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)-spiro(fluorene-9,9'-xanthene), was prepared through a simple acid-catalyzed condensation reaction of 9-fluorenone with resorcinol to form the spiro framework through an sp(3) carbon atom. Subsequent nucleophilic substitution reaction of spiro[fluorene-9,9'-(2',7'-dihydroxyxanthene)] with 2-chloro-5-nitrobenzotrifluoride in the presence of potassium carbonate in N,N-dimethylacetamide, was followed by catalytic reduction with hydrazine and Pd/C in ethanol. A series of new polyimides were synthesized from the diamine with various commercially available aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydrides via a conventional two-stage process with the thermal or chemical imidization of the poly(amic acid) precursors. Most of the polyimides obtained from both routes were soluble in many organic solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N,N-dimethylacetamide and m-cresol. All the polyimides could afford transparent, flexible, and strong films with low moisture absorptions of 0.35-0.64% and low dielectric constants of 2.63-3.09 at 1 kHz. Thin films of these polyimides showed an UV-vis absorption cutoff wavelength at 356-384 nm, and those of polyimides from 4,4'-oxydiphthalic dianhydride and 2,2-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride (6FDA) were essentially colorless. The polyimides exhibited excellent thermal stability, with decomposition temperatures (at 10% weight loss) above 540 degrees C in both air and nitrogen atmospheres and glass transition temperatures (T(g)) in the range of 274-323 degrees C. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.