Siloxane-modified polyimide copolymers

One of the major goals of this endeavor was to solubilize the normally intractable polyimides by the incorporation of siloxane segments, and, optionally, by solution imidization. Solubilities of a series of siloxane-modified polyimide copolymers were evaluated in a variety of solvents as indicated in Table I. Copolymer solubility was found to be a function of the siloxane oligomer concentration... 

Segmented polyimide-polydimethylsiloxane copolymers have been successfully synthesized both in laboratory and industrial quantities to produce multiphase siloxane-modified polyimides. The siloxane detracts somewhat from the otherwise excellent thermo oxidative stability of the polyimide, but it does produce a number of important properties. These include multiphase behavior, improved adhesion to many substrates, improvements in fire resistance and enhanced gas and liquid separation membranes, where one wishes not only to maximize the contribution of the siloxane to permeability, but also to utilize the imide to re-... 

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