Poly(arylene ether nitrile) (PEN) end-capped with phthalonitrile (PEN-n) was synthesized by incorporating phthalonitrile into the terminals of PEN. The as-prepared flexible PEN-n (after elevated temperature treatment) was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, gel permeation chromatography, and rheological measurements. In addition, the effects of curing behaviors on properties of PEN-n films were studied by thermal, dielectric and mechanical measurements. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed that glass transition temperature of PEN-n was improved from 176 to 232 degrees C as the curing temperature and time increased. Thermal gravimetric analysis revealed that initial decomposition temperature of PEN-n cured at 320 degrees C for 2 h was 570 degrees C. Mechanical properties showed that tensile strength of PEN-n uncured and cured at 320 degrees C for 3 h was 85 and 97 MPa, respectively. The dielectric properties showed that the dielectric constant of PEN-n film decreased from 4.0 to 3.1 as the curing time increased and dielectric loss of PEN-n was 0.01 at 100 kHz. This kind of PEN-n film may be used as a good candidate for high-performance polymeric materials. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012