ABSTRACT:The reactivity of isomers ofpoly(amic acid) prepared from 4,4'-oxydianiline and pyromellitic dianhydride in thermal imidization was investigated both in solution and in solid state at l 30°C. FT-NMR was the main tool used to measure the mole fraction of various species formed in partial imidization, using diphenyl pyromellitamic acid as a model compound to verify its applicability. The results were modeled by kinetic equations. It showed that the terephthalamide isomer reacted 4.14 times faster than isophthalamide isomer when imidized in solution. On the other hand, the isophthalamide isomer reacted 3.25 times faster than the terephthalamide isomer when reacted in solid state.KEY WORDS Poly(amic acid) / Imidization / Kinetics / Aromatic polyimides have outstanding thermal, electrical and mechanical properties. They are an important class of high-performance polymers, applied extensively in insulation film for electrical equipment and electronic devices, such as flexible printed circuit board and multilevel metallization of LSis.Polyimides, in general, show a lack in thermoplasticity and solubility for processing. These marterials are unsually processed in the form of their precursors, the poly(amic acid)s, in solution, followed by thermal imidization. The reaction kinetics of imidization have been studied extensively.