Polyimide gels are produced by cross-linking anhydride capped polyamic acid oligomers with aromatic triamine in solution and chemically imidizing. The gels are then supercritically dried to form nanoporous polyimide aerogels with densities as low as 0.14 g/cm(3) and surface areas as high as 512 m(2)/g. To understand the effect of the polyimide backbone on properties, aerogels from several combinations of diamine and dianhydride, and formulated oligomer chain length are examined. Formulations made from 2,2'-dimethylbenzidine as the diamine shrink the least but have among the highest compressive modulus. Formulations made using 4,4'-oxydianiline or 2,2'dimethylbenzidine can be fabricated into continuous thin films using a roll to roll casting process. The films are flexible enough to be rolled or folded back on themselves and recover completely without cracking or flaking, and have tensile strengths of 4-9 MPa. Finally, the highest onset of decomposition (above 600 °C) of the polyimide aerogels was obtained using p-phenylene diamine as the backbone diamine with either dianhydride studied. All of the aerogels are suitable candidates for high-temperature insulation with glass transition temperatures ranging from 270-340 °C and onsets of decomposition from 460-610 °C.

The dielectric properties and loss tangents of low-density polyimide aerogels have been characterized at various frequencies. Relative dielectric constants as low as 1.16 were measured for polyimide aerogels made from 2,2'-dimethylbenzidine (DMBZ) and biphenyl 3,3',4,4'-tetracarbozylic dianhydride (BPDA) cross-linked with 1,3,5-triaminophenoxybenzene (TAB). This formulation was used as the substrate to fabricate and test prototype microstrip patch antennas and benchmark against state of practice commercial antenna substrates. The polyimide aerogel antennas exhibited broader bandwidth, higher gain, and lower mass than the antennas made using commercial substrates. These are very encouraging results, which support the potential advantages of the polyimide aerogel-based antennas for aerospace applications.

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