A phthalonitrile-containing diamine monomer, 4,4'-diamino-4''-(3,4-dicyanophenoxy)-triphenylmethane, 1, was prepared, and its cure behavior was investigated. The diamine 1 was thermally polymerized at 250 o C even in absence of curing additives. The resulting resins exhibited exceptional high thermal and thermo-oxidative stability, with the 5% weight loss being above 500 o C and the char yield at 700 o C being over 62%, in air or inert atmosphere. New soluble aromatic polyamides derived from diamine 1, 2,2-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl]propane and terephthaloyl chloride were synthesized. They showed good solubility in organic solvents, film forming properties, and high thermal stability, with the decomposition temperature being above 400 o C. The kinetic processing of thermogravimetric data was carried out using differential and integral methods. Electrical properties of the polymer films were evaluated on the basis of dielectric constant and dielectric loss and their variation with frequency and temperature. The influence of the phthalonitrile content on the polymer properties was studied.