2. Applications of thermostable heterocyclic polymers

Compared with other specialty polymers, heterocyclic macromolecules are expensive raw materials, often difficult to synthesize and relatively complex to process. They are therefore reserved for applications in advanced technologies such as electronics, aerospace and gas separation membranes. Like all other polymers, they can be used as adhesives, composite matrices, molded objects, cellular materials, fibers and films. In the following paragraphs, the polymers used in these various applications are often represented by an abbreviated nomenclature, such as PMDA-ODA, which refers to the starting reagents and the polymers derived from them. Correspondence between the chemical names of the products and the abbreviations is given in the table of abbreviations.