Novel benzimidazole and pyridine-containing poly(ether ether ketone) s with good solubility, thermal properties and fluorescence

3,5-bis(2-benzimidazolyl) pyridine (3,5-BP) is synthesized and a series of benzimidazolyl and pyridyl-containing poly (ether ether ketone) s (mPEEK-BPs) with precise structures and high yield are prepared through a nucleophilic displacement reaction of 3,5-BP, m-dihydroxybenzene and 4,4′-difluorobenzophenone. X-ray diffraction results show that mPEEK-BPs are amorphous. All the synthesized polymers posses high glass transition temperatures (T_g = 211~270 °C) and high thermal stability (T_d5% = 506~549 °C in N₂, 471~564 °C in air). The polymers have good solubilities in common organic solvents. With the increase of benzimidazole and pyridine units content, the thermal properties and solubility of the as-prepared polymers improved. Additionally, the resulted polymers exhibit excellent fluorescence performance and the fluorescence emission peak appears at 425 nm.