Investigation of optical and thermal properties of N-(alkyl-substituted) maleimides for use in zero-zero-birefringence polymer.

N-(alkyl-substituted) maleimides (RMIs) were proposed as materials useful for the development of a zero-zero-birefringence polymer that exhibits no birefringence. We analyzed the optical and thermal properties of poly(RMI)s, such as the refractive index, birefringence, and glass transition temperature. The characteristics of the obtained polymers varied significantly because the shift of the density and polarizability derived from the change of the substituent structure influenced the optical properties, and the bulkiness of the substituents influenced the thermal properties. We also designed a zero-zero-birefringence polymer using N-ethyl maleimide (EMI) as a comonomer, and the obtained copolymer had no birefringence, relatively high heat resistance, and high transparency.