Synthesis and characterization of soluble polyamides from bis-[(4'-aminobenzyl)-4-benzamide] ether and various diacids

New aromatic diamine containing preformed amide, ether, and methylene; bis-[(4′-aminobenzyl)-4-benzamide] ether (BABE), was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, NMR, and mass spectrometry. Aromatic–aliphatic polyamides were prepared from BABE with aliphatic/aromatic diacids via Yamazaki’s polymerization. The polyamides were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, inherent viscosity [ηinh], solubility tests, differential scanning calorimetry [DSC], thermogravimetric analysis [TGA], and X-ray diffraction [XRD]. Polyamides had inherent viscosities 0.35–0.84 dL/g, soluble in aprotic polar solvents like N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N, N-dimethyl acetamide and dimethyl sulphoxide containing LiCl due to an amorphous to partially crystalline morphology; as XRD patterns indicated. DSC analysis of polyamides showed glass transition temperatures 166–268 °C. Polyamides showed high thermal stability as they did not degrade below 300 °C, had 10% weight loss temperature higher than 375 °C, and the char yields at 900 °C were 22–55%; indicating potential applications as engineering materials.