Thermally induced chemical evolution in polyimide films investigated by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Thermally modified polyimide films based on 1,4‐Phenylene diamine (p‐PDA) and 3,3′,4,4′ – Benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) were prepared and their chemical structure transformation after thermal treatment at 350 °C–500 °C was investigated. X‐ray diffraction results revealed an increase in the polymer chain order for all treated PI samples as a consequence of the thermal treatment and chain interaction. TGA analysis showed that the heat treatment promoted different thermal degradation profiles. Electron spin resonance evidenced a large population of free radicals as a result of homogeneous bond cleavage when the thermal treatment was performed at 500 °C. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that the chemical structure transformation not only occurs on the outer surface but also in the sub‐surface layer. These results show that controlled fast thermal treatment can produce materials with specific characteristics and may serve as a general strategy for changing both structural and chemical properties of the polymers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 58:943–951, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers
Funding Information
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (#5321‐09‐3)

This publication has 37 references indexed in Scilit: