Changes in the optical and thermal properties of low-temperature cured polyimide thin films using the catalyst

In this study, various polyimide films were synthesized via low temperature cure in order to understand changes in their phys-ical properties when using 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA) as a diamine and dianhydride molecules with different backbones on a single diamine such as 4,4'-Oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA), 4,4-hexafluoroisopropylidene diphthalic dianhydride (6FDA), and 3,3', 4,4'-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA). After the synthesis of poly(amic acid), polyimide films were fabricated by adding 1,4-diazabicyclo [2.2.2]octane (DABCO), a low-temperature catalyst, at various wt% to poly(amic acid)s. Changes of optical and thermal properties were compared and analyzed between polyimide films without catalyst and poly-imide films with catalyst by FT-IR, UV-Vis transmittance, DSC/TGA, and WAXD analysis. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis revealed that the mean intermolecular distance decreased with the use of a catalyst by the type of dianhydride. Thus, while the optical properties of the films improve by a low-temperature cure performed using a catalyst, their thermal properties decrease. These changes can be explained by the changes in the morphological structure of the films triggered by a catalyst-induced reduction in the mean intermolecular distance. Moreover, the results show that the type of dianhydride determines the degree of change in the optical and thermal properties in each types of polyimide, demonstrating that changes in the optical and thermal properties are directly associated with the backbone of the polyimide structure.