Preparation and Characterization of Electrospun Poly (3, 3’5, 5’-Tetramethyl-4, 4’-Diaminodiphenyl-Butyltoluene-Co- 3, 3’, 4, 4’-Biphenyltetracarboxylicdianhydride) Nanofiber Membranes

Abstract

A soluble polyimide (PI), 3,3’5,5’-tetramethyl-4,4’-diamino diphenylbutyltoluene- co-BPDA, was synthesized from 3,3’5,5’-tetramethyl-4,4’-diaminodiphenyl-butyltoluene and BPDA in m-cresol solution. The inherent viscosity of the resulting polyimide was 0.84 dL/g. Polyimide solutions in DMAc, with a concentration ranged from 14wt% to 34wt%, were electrospun into well-formed nanofiber membranes. The electrospinning parameters such as solution concentration, feed rate, applied voltage, and collection distance were optimized in order to reduce fiber diameter and distribution. The effect of LiCl and CTAB (Cetrimonium Bromide) on the elcetrospinning was also investigated. The obtained nanofiber membranes were characterized by SEM, TGA, XRD, and tensile test. With optimized electrospinning parameters the averaged diameter and the distribution of nanofibers could be reduced to 249 nm and 0.047, respectively. For the membranes, the temperature of 5% weight loss in nitrogen was 380°C and 10% at 534°C. The excellent thermal stability makes it could be used as high temperature filter materials.