ABSTRACT:Polyhydrazides and poly(amide-hydrazide)s having inherent viscosities of 0.31-1.17 dL g â1 were prepared from two ether-naphthalene-dicarboxylic acids, 4,4'-(1,5-naphthalenedioxy)dibenzoic acid (1,5-NDA) and 4,4'-(2,3-naphthalenedioxy)dibenzoic acid (2,3-NDA) with terephthalic dihydrazide, isophthalic dihydrazide, and paminobenzhydrazide via the phosphorylation polycondensation reaction. Except for one example, the hydrazide polymers were essentially amorphous and readily soluble in polar organic solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). They could be cast into transparent, flexible, and tough films with good mechanical strengths from solution in DMAc. These hydrazide polymers exhibited glass-transition temperatures (T g s) in the range 179-190⢠C and could be thermally cyclodehydrated into the corresponding poly(1,3,4-oxadiazole)s and poly(amide-1,3,4-oxadiazole)s in the solid state at elevated temperatures. The oxadiazole polymers had T g s of 228-242⢠C (by differential scanning calorimetry) and 10% weight loss temperatures above 500⢠C, as revealed by thermogravimetric analysis in nitrogen or in air. KEY WORDS Naphthalenedioxy / Polyhydrazide / Poly(amide-hydrazide) / Poly(1,3,4-oxadiazole) / Poly(amide-1,3,4-oxadiazole) / Aromatic poly(1,3,4-oxadiazole)s are a class of chemically resistant and thermally stable heterocyclic polymers. 1, 2 They are considered to be interesting alternatives for the development of high temperature and flame resistant fibers, 3, 4 or thermally stable membranes for gas separation. 5 In addition, oxadiazole-based polymers have been widely investigated in the field of polymer light-emitting diodes as well as other fields of polymer electronics. 6-11 Unfortunately, aromatic polyoxadiazoles are difficult to process owing to their infusible and insoluble properties and their tendency to be brittle. Many efforts have been made to improve the solubility and lower the T g , hence to make such polymers more easily processable, for example by incorporating flexible linkages in the backbone or bulky pendant group on the aromatic rings. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Several different reaction pathways have been developed to prepare poly(1,3,4-oxadiazole)s. The most popular synthesis involves the preparation of a precursor polyhydrazide by the reaction of a diacyl chloride or derivative with hydrazine or a dihydrazide compound. This precursor polyhydrazide is cyclized to the polyoxadiazole by heating to 200-300 ⢠C under vacuum or heating in a dehydrating solvent such as sulfuric acid, polyphosphoric acid, or phosphoryl chloride. [19][20][21] A different synthetic procedure produces polyoxadiazoles in one step by the solution polymerization of a dicarboxylic acid or the corresponding nitrile, amide, or ester with hydrazine or its salt in polyphosphoric or sulfuric acid or a phosphorus pentoxide/methanesulfonic acid mixture. 16,22,23 In addition, aromatic polyether synthesis through aromatic nucleophilic displacement reaction has been used for the ...