A new trifluoromethyl-substituted bis(ether amine) monomer, 2,7-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)naphthalene, was synthesized. It led to a series of novel fluorinated polyimides by thermal and chemical imidization routes when reacted with various commercially available aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydrides. Most of the polyimides obtained from both routes were soluble in many organic solvents, such as N,N-dimethylacetamide. All the polyimides could afford transparent, flexible, and strong films with low moisture absorptions of 0.3-0.6%, low dielectric constants of 2.52-3.27 at 10 kHz, and an ultraviolet-visible absorption cutoff wavelength at 377436 nm.. The glass-transition temperatures of the polyimides were in the range of 244-297 degreesC, and the 5% weight-loss temperatures were higher than 550 degreesC. For a comparative study, a series of analogous polyimides based on 2,7-bis(4-aminophenoxy)naphthalene were also prepared and characterized. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.