Organosoluble and transparent cardo polyimides with high Tg derived from 9,9-bis(4-aminophenyl)xanthene

9,9-Bis(4-aminophenyl)xanthene (BAPX) was prepared simply and effectively via one-pot, two-step procedure using xanthenone and aniline as main substrates. The monomer BAPX was reacted with six aromatic dianhydrides in N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) to yield the corresponding polyimides (PIs) via the poly(amic acid) precursors and subsequent thermal or chemical imidization. The resulting PIs exhibited good thermal stability with glass transition temperatures of 308–348°C, initial decomposition temperatures of 470–510°C, 10% weight loss temperatures of 540–565°C, and char yields of 55–59% at 800°C in nitrogen, respectively. All polymers were amorphous and readily soluble in organic solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and DMAc. The PI films had tensile strengths of 71–92 MPa, tensile moduli of 1.91–2.35 GPa, and elongations at break of 5–13%. Meanwhile, these polymer films also had high optical transparency with a cutoff wavelength in the range of 367–415 nm, lower dielectric constants (3.02–3.34 at 10 MHz), and low water uptake of 0.30–0.52%.