Surface properties of aromatic polymer film during thermal treatment

Aromatic polyimide films are processed from polyamic acid solutions. This process involved the simultaneous loss of solvent and chemical conversion of polyamic acid to polyimide, and implied structural reorganization which led to changed physical properties. Polymer films generated from benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride and 4,4′-diamino-3,3′-dimethyl diphenylmethane have been investigated at different stages of thermal treatment. The surface polarity, which was determined by the presence of polar COOH and CONH groups, changed during polyamic acid thermal treatment. These polar groups were removed step by step by imidization process leading to the modification of the physical properties of the polymer film.