Polymer Concentration and Liquid—Liquid Demixing Time Correlation with Porous Structure of Low Dielectric Polyimide in Diffusion-Driven Phase Separation

Abstract

Porous polyimide (PI) films are a promising low-k dielectric material for high-frequency data transmission with low signal attenuation. Pores are generated by non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) during phase inversion of polymer solution via non-solvent accumulation and solvent diffusion. In this study, aromatic PI was employed as a matrix for NIPS, and the influence of polymer concentration and liquid—liquid demixing time on the morphology of pores in the PI films was investigated. This ensured control over the porous structure of the PI film and provided desirable dielectric properties in a broad frequency range of 100 Hz–30 MHz (1.99 at 30 MHz) and thermal stability (Td5% > 576 °C, Tg > 391 °C). This study addresses the effect of polymer concentration and coagulation time on the morphology and physical properties of PI sponge films and provides guidance on the design and optimization of architectures for polymeric materials requiring pore modification.