Synthesis and characterization of novel soluble cardo poly(arylene ether ketone)s containing xanthene structures

9,9‐Bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)xanthene (BHPX), a bisphenol monomer, was synthesized in 82% yield from xanthenone in a one‐pot, two‐step synthetic procedure. Four novel aromatic poly(ether ketone)s (PEKs) based on BHPX were prepared via a nucleophilic aromatic substitution polycondensation with four difluorinated aromatic ketones. The polycondensation proceeded in tetramethylene sulfone in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate and afforded the new cardo PEKs in nearly quantitative yields with inherent viscosities of 0.77–0.85 dL/g. High molecular weight PEKs having number‐average molecular weights (M_n's) in the range of 38,900–40,600 g/mol with the polydispersity index ranged from 1.97 to 2.06 are all amorphous and show high glass transition temperatures ranging from 210°C to 254°C, excellent thermal stability, and the temperatures at the 5% weight loss are over 538°C with char yields above 60% at 700°C in nitrogen. These new PEKs are all soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone and N, N′‐dimethylacetamide and could also be dissolved in chloroform and tetrahydrofuran. All the polymers formed transparent, strong, and flexible films with tensile strengths of 78–84 MPa, Young's moduli of 2.54–3.10 GPa, and elongations at break of 14–18 %. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Synthesis and properties of novel organosoluble copoly(arylene ether nitriles) containing thioether moiety

In this work, a series of novel organosoluble copoly(arylene ether nitriles) containing thioether moiety (PENS) were synthesized via nucleophilic aromatic substitution polymerization of 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile with bisphenol A and sodium sulfide nonahydrate, using N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone as solvent in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate. The chemical structures of PENS were characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR. The derived copolymers showed high glass transition temperatures in the range of 167–178 °C and excellent thermal stability with the 5% weight loss temperatures ranging from 465 °C to 503 °C. Meanwhile, all of the PENS were amorphous and can be readily cast into transparent films with a tensile strength exceeding 77 MPa and a breaking elongation over 4.8%.In addition, the dielectric constant of all the PENS copolymers showed weak frequency dependence, the dielectric loss showed slight decrease with increasing frequency over the range of 100 Hz to 200 kHz. Therefore, this kind of organosoluble copoly(arylene ether nitriles) containing thioether moiety could be a good candidate as matrix resins for high-performance polymeric materials.     

Novel poly(arylene ether)s containing multi-substituted pentaphenylene moiety

Three novel 2-trifluoromethyl-activated bisfluoro monomers have been synthesized successfully using a Suzuki-coupling reaction of 4-fluoro-3-trifluoromethyl phenyl boronic acid with 4,4′-dibromo-p-terphenyls with varied phenyl substitution on the middle phenylene ring. Three monomers were converted to a series of phenyl substituted poly(arylene ether)s by nucleophilic displacement of the fluorine atoms on the terminal benzene ring with several bisphenols. The polymers obtained by displacement of the fluorine atoms exhibit weight-average molecular weight up to 2.25 × 10⁵ g/mol in GPC. Thermal analysis studies indicated that these polymers did not show melting endotherms but did show ultrahigh T_g values up to 334 °C in DSC and outstanding thermal stability up to 671 °C for 5% weight loss in TGA under nitrogen atmosphere. The polymers are soluble in a wide range of organic solvents: THF, CHCl₃, NMP, DMAc, DMF, toluene, etc., and are insoluble in DMSO and acetone at room temperature. Transparent and flexible films were easily prepared by solution casting from chloroform solution of each of the polymers. The UV absorption spectra of thin films showed no absorption in the visible light region of the spectrum, suggesting a good application to optical transparent materials in the visible light region of the spectrum.     

Synthesis and properties of novel fluorinated poly(arylene ether)s

Dibromomethylene‐containing monomer with a tetrafluorobenzene central unit was synthesized using 2,3,5,6‐tetrafluoro‐1,4‐bis(4‐methylphenoxy)benzene as a starting material. This approach enabled preparation of several fluorinated poly(arylene ether)s containing isomeric fragments, with or without allyl or acetyl side groups, which were prepared by interaction of the synthesized tetrafluorobenzene‐based monomer with various types of hydroxyl‐substituted diphenyl ethers. The structure of the synthesized compounds was determined using Fourier transform infrared, ¹H NMR and ¹⁹ F NMR spectroscopy techniques. Most of the resulting polyethers were soluble in chlorinated, ether‐type or polar amide solvents. The molecular weight, mechanical and thermal properties of the synthesized fluorinated poly(arylene ether)s were studied depending on the inherent isomery of macromolecular chains and the nature of functional groups. Some ways of functionalization of the prepared fluorinated polyethers with epoxy and triethoxysilyl groups were proposed. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation and performance of crosslinked poly(arylene ether)s containing azobenzene chromophores

A series of novel poly(arylene ether)s with crosslinked groups and different azobenzene chromophores contents (azo-CPAEs: PAE-allyl20%-azo20%, PAE-allyl20%-azo40%, PAE-allyl20%-azo60%) were synthesized from a new bisfluoro monomer, (2,6-difluorophenyl)-(4-hydroxyphenyl)methanone. Their chemical structures were characterized by means of UV-vis and FI-IR. The thermal properties of the polymers were investigated by TGA and DSC, indicating the polymers had high glass transition temperatures (T_g > 147 °C) and good thermal stability (T_d5 > 360 °C) even when the contents of azobenzene chromophores was high to 60%. And the influence of thermal crosslinking on the performance of PAE-allyl20%-azo20%, a typical one of the series, was investigated. T_g of PAE-allyl20%-azo20% increased with the increase of heating time when heat-treated at 250 °C for 20, 40 and 60 min, indicating the crosslink degree of the polymer increased. After heat-treated for 60 min, T_g of PAE-allyl20%-azo20% increased to 175 °C from 147 °C before thermal crosslinking. Upon irradiation with a 532 nm neodymium doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser beam, the remnant value of the polymer PAE-allyl20%-azo20% before and after the thermal crosslinking were 81 and 96%, respectively, meaning that the PAE-allyl20%-azo20% after thermal crosslink showed more stable photoinduced alignment than that before thermal crosslinking.     

Kinetics of isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization of novel poly(arylene ether ether sulfide)s

The kinetics of crystallization have been studied for a series of novel poly(ether ether sulfide)s based on a biphenyl moiety in the backbone (M_n = 14.3K, 19.1K), referred to as biphenyl sulfide (T_g = 142°C, T_m = 347°C) and phenyl moieties in the backbone (M_n = 8.1K, 19.9K, 34K), referred to as phenyl sulfide (T_g = 100°C, T_m = 243°C). Isothermal melt crystallization kinetics were analyzed based on the Avrami equation. Avrami exponents close to three were obtained for the phenyl sulfides, independent of molecular weight or crystallization temperature, which implies growth of three-dimensional spherulitic superstructures following heterogeneous nucleation. For the biphenyl sulfides, values closer to 2 were obtained for the exponent, also independent of molecular weight or crystallization temperature, which could imply the incomplete development of three-dimensional superstructures following heterogeneous nucleation. Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics were also studied by cooling from the melt; in all cases studied, the Ozawa analysis could not well describe the evolution of crystallinity, probably because of the inapplicability of some of the inherent assumptions in this type of analysis. The data were analyzed using the conventional form of the Avrami equation, which yielded good fits. This semiquantitative method of analysis yields a reduced rate constant that was found to increase with increasing cooling rate and decreasing molecular weight. The results of the isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization studies carried out on the poly(ether ether sulfide)s have been compared wherever possible to the results available for PPS and PEEK.     

Synthesis and properties of novel organosoluble aromatic poly(ether ketone)s containing pendant methyl groups and sulfone linkages

Several novel aromatic poly(ether ketone)s containing pendant methyl groups and sulfone linkages with inherent viscosities of 0.62–0.65 dL/g were prepared from 2‐methyldiphenylether and 3‐methyldiphenylether with 4,4′‐bis(4‐chloroformylphenoxy)diphenylsulfone and 4,4′‐bis (3‐chloroformylphenoxy)diphenylsulfone by electrophilic Friedel–Crafts acylation in the presence of N,N‐dimethylformamide with anhydrous AlCl₃ as a catalyst in 1,2‐dichloroethane. These polymers, having weight‐average molecular weights in the range of 57,000–71,000, were all amorphous and showed high glass‐transition temperatures ranging from 160.5 to 167°C, excellent thermal stability at temperatures over 450°C in air or nitrogen, high char yields of 52–57% in nitrogen, and good solubility in CHCl₃ and polar solvents such as N,N‐dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, and N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone at room temperature. All the polymers formed transparent, strong, and flexible films, with tensile strengths of 84.6–90.4 MPa, Young's moduli of 2.33–2.71 GPa, and elongations at break of 26.1–27.4%. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Hyperbranched poly(arylene ether phosphine oxide)s

Summary New AB₂ and A₂B monomers, bis(4-fluorophenyl)-4'-hydroxyphenylphosphine oxide and bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4'-fluorophenyl-phosphine oxide were prepared and converted to corresponding hyperbranched poly(arylene ether phosphineoxide)s with hydroxyphenyl and fluorophenyl end functional groups. While the dihydroxy monomer gave a low molecular weight polymer, the difluoro monomer produced a high molecular weight hyperbranched polymer. The glass transition temperature of the obtained polymers was 266°C and 230°C, and 5% weight loss temperature was 491 °C and 391 °C, respectively. The fluorophenyl-terminated hyperbranched polymer was soluble in CHCl₃, but the hydroxyphenyl-terminated polymer was not soluble in CHCl3 even though it has lower molecular weight than the fluorophenyl-terminated polymer, indicating that properties of the hyperbranched polymers markedly depend on end functional groups as well as their molecular weight. Received: 23 August 2000/Revised version: 19 October 2000/Accepted: 31 October 2000     

New poly(arylene ether)s containing phthalimidine group in the main chain

Five new poly(arylene ether)s containing phthalimidine group in the main chain and pendent trifluoromethyl group have been prepared by the reaction of 4,4′‐(bis‐4‐fluoro‐3‐trifluoromethylphenyl)benzene (BTF) with bisphenols. Different molar ratios of N‐phenyl‐3,3‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)phthalimidine (PA) and 4,4′‐isopropylidenediphenol (BPA) have been used to generate different copolymers. The polymers obtained by step growth polymerization exhibited weight‐average molecular weight upto 134,000 g/mol with a polydispersity index of 2.1–2.4. The homopolymer from BTF and PA showed very high glass transition temperature of 258°C and outstanding thermal stability upto 536°C for 5% weight loss under nitrogen. The polymers were soluble in a wide range of organic solvents. Transparent thin films of these polymers exhibited tensile strengths upto 65 MPa and elongation at break upto 45% depending on the exact repeat unit structures. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Adhesion property of sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s

Sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s (S‐PESs) were synthesized from sulfonated 4,4′‐dichlorodiphenylsulfone (S‐DCDPS), 4,4′‐dichlorodiphenylsulfone (DCDPS), and 4,4′‐biphenol through variations in the molar ratio of S‐DCDPS to DCDPS from 10/90 to 40/60. The S‐PES sodium form was characterized with Fourier transform infrared, ¹H‐NMR, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic mechanical analysis, and the intrinsic viscosity and solubility were also evaluated. The sodium form was then subjected to acidification by immersion in 1.5M HCl for 24 h at room temperature, which was followed by washing with deionized water. The S‐PES adhesive properties were measured with single laboratory shear samples with aluminum alloys, and the failure mode was investigated. The synthesized S‐PESs exhibited increased glass‐transition temperatures with increased S‐DCDPS/DCDPS ratios; their acid forms provided much lower glass‐transition temperatures than their sodium forms. In addition, the S‐PES sodium form exhibited a high intrinsic viscosity, which indicated a high molecular weight. The S‐PES acid form exhibited an adhesion strength similar to that of the sodium form, and the single‐lap‐shear strength increased with 10% S‐PES and then decreased with 20, 30, and 40% S‐PES. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 1211–1218, 2004     

Synthesis and characterization of novel (sulfonated) poly(arylene ether)s with pendent trifluoromethyl groups

This paper reports the synthesis of four different trifluoromethyl-substituted poly(arylene ether)s on the basis of 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane (bisphenol AF) and various difluoro- or dinitrobiphenyl or terphenyl monomers in the course of a step-growth polycondensation. Besides a comparison between the polymerisability of the different monomer combinations, a main focus of this work lies on the NMR characterization of these poly(arylene ether)s. Poly(arylene ether)s with sufficiently high number average molecular weights were sulfonated by fuming sulfuric acid or chlorosulfonic acid and investigated in terms of membrane properties relevant for fuel cell applications.     

Synthesis and characterization of flame resistant poly(arylene ether)s

Hydrolytically stable phosphorus-containing monomers, such as 4,4′-bis(fluorophenyl)methylphosphine oxide (BFPMPO), 4,4′-bis(hydroxyphenyl)methylphosphine oxide (BOHPMPO), and 4,4-bis(hydroxyphenyl)phenylphosphine oxide (BOHPPO), were synthesized and used in nucleophilic aromatic substitution poly-condensation to prepare poly(arylene ether phosphine oxide) engineering thermoplastics. The synthesis and characterization of these novel polymers are described. It was determined that by incorporating the phosphine oxide moiety into the polymer backbone, certain properties of the resulting poly(arylene ether) were substantially improved, such as an increase in T_g, thermal stability in air, modulus, and char yield compared with control poly(arylene ether sulfone)s. The high char yields obtained for these polymers in air along with observed intumescence indicates that these materials have improved fire resistance. Preliminary cone calorimetry measurements support this conclusion.     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(arylene ether ketone)s containing triazole units through click chemistry

In order to develop a novel process for poly(arylene ether ketone)s with high thermal and chemical stability, a series of poly(aylene ether ketone)s containing triazloe moieties were synthesized via the click chemistry of 4,4′-bis(azidomethyl) diphenyl ketone (BADPK) and bisethynyl compounds (BEAE1-5). The resulting polymers were characterized by using IR and ¹H NMR techniques. The solubility data showed that samples possessed good solubility in highly polar solvents. Molecular mass of these samples was determined by GPC which indicated they exhibited reasonable molecules weights and relatively small polydispersity. Furthermore, thermal stability of the samples was evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which indicated that they possessed good thermal stability and high T _g (100–140 °C). All the polymers were amorphous confirmed by DSC and X-ray diffraction (WAXD).     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(arylene ether) containing cyanate ester networks

A series of bisphenols containing ether linkage were prepared from halo phenol/dihalo compound and dihydroxy compounds in the presence of K₂CO₃. The bisphenols were transformed to cyanate esters by treatment with cyanogen bromide using triethyl amine catalyst. The structure of all the five bisphenols and the cyanate esters were structurally confirmed by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR spectral methods and elemental analysis. The cyanate esters were cured at 100 °C (30 min) → 150 °C (30 min) → 200 °C (60 min) → 250 °C (3 hr). The thermal properties of the cured resins were studied by DSC and TGA. DSC analysis shows that these cyanate esters exhibit T _g in the range of 203–234 °C. The CE(c) has the highest glass transition temperature. The cyanate ester CE(e) shows the lowest T _g which is due to its asymmetric structure. The initial degradation temperature of the cured resins was found to be in the range of 324–336 °C. The Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) value, determined by Van Krevelen’s equation, is in the range of 35.5–38.7.     

Poly(arylene ether sulfones) and poly(arylene ether ketones) derived from dibenzofuran

Summary New polyarylene ether ketones and polyarylene ether sulfones were prepared by polycondensation of various bisphenols with two new dihalide monomers including dibenzofuran structure, respectively 3,6 bis (4-fluorophenylcarbonyl) dibenzofuran and 3,6 bis (4-fluorophenylsulfonyl) dibenzofuran. Most of these thermoplastic polyethers are soluble in NMP and in chlorinated soluents. They exhibit Tgs up to 234°C for the polyetherketones and up to 262°C for the polysulfones, so over 50°C higher than the Tgs of classical available polyethers.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone)s derived from 4,4'-sulfonyldiphenol

Summary Novel sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone)s were prepared directly by aromatic nucleophilic polycondensation of 4,4'-sulfonyldiphenol with various ratios of 4,4'-difluorobenzophenone to 5,5'-carbonylbis(2-fluorobenzenesulfonate) in dimethyl sulfoxide. The resulting polyelectrolytes were characterized by IR, NMR, TGA and DSC. The 10% weight loss temperature of the products is higher than 510°C, and their glass transition temperature is above 260°C. The introduction of 4,4'-sulfonyldiphenol with powerful electron-withdrawing group, -SO₂₋, into the main chain of sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone)s improves the thermal stability against desulfonation. The ion-exchange capacity and swelling of the polyelectrolyte membranes were measured, which are higher than 1.23meq/g and not higher than 20.9%, respectively. The membranes show very good perspectives in polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEMFC) application. Received: 27 March 2002 / Revised version: 7 May 2002 / Accepted: 13 May 2002     

Synthesis and characterization of low-birefringent crosslinkable fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfide)s containing pendant phenyl moiety

Fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfide) (FPAESI) and ethynyl-terminated fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfide) (E-FPAESI) were synthesized via step-growth polymerization from prepared dihydroxy monomer and pentafluorophenylsulfide, then E-FPAESI was followed by a reaction with 3-ethynylphenol. The number-average molecular weights and polydispersities of FPAESI and E-FPAESI were in the range of 12,000-26,000 and 1.75-3.18, respectively. The glass transition temperatures of the polymers varied from 138 to 178 °C depending on the molecular weight of the polymer used and were changed to the range of 191-245 °C after curing. The FPAESIs and E-FPAESIs exhibited high thermal stability up to 445-450 °C and 457-462 °C, respectively. The refractive index and birefringence of spin-coated polymer films were determined by the prism-coupling method. The refractive indices and birefringences of the films were in the range of 1.5849-1.5880 and 0.0014-0.0035 at a 1550 nm wavelength, respectively. The effect of E-FPAESI structure on the birefringence is compared with various reported poly(arylene ether sulfide)s.     

Design and synthesis of organosoluble and transparent polyimides containing bulky substituents and noncoplanar structures

A new diamine monomer, 3,3′‐diisopropyl‐4,4′‐diaminophenyl‐4″‐phenyltouene, was designed, synthesized, and then polymerized with five commercial dianhydrides to obtain a series of novel polyimides via a one‐step method. The obtained polymers showed excellent solubility in most common solvents, even in low‐boiling solvents, such as chloroform, dichloromethane, and tetrahydrofuran. They exhibited a high thermal stability with the glass‐transition temperature in the range 262–318°C and 10% weight loss temperatures in the range 464–488°C under a nitrogen atmospheres. Meanwhile, these polymer films also displayed a high optical transparency with a cutoff wavelength in the range 305–365 nm; prominent mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 65.6–94.9 MPa, a Young's modulus of 1.6–2.8 GPa, and an elongation at break of 9.3–13.7%; a low dielectric constant in the range of 2.91–3.18 at 1 MHz; and an outstanding hydrophobicity with a contact angle above 90.6°. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43266.     

Fluorinated naphthalene-based poly(arylene ether ketone)s containing pendant groups for direct methanol fuel cells

A novel series of naphthalene-based poly(arylene ether ketone) copolymers containing methoxy groups and hexafluoroisopropylidene diphenyl moieties (6F-MNPAEKs) were successfully synthesized by aromatic nucleophilic polycondensation. Chain-type fluorinated and sulfonated naphthalene-based poly(arylene ether ketone) copolymers (6F-SNPAEKs) were subsequently synthesized by demethylation and sulfobutylation. The chemical structures of 6F-SNPAEKs were confirmed by ¹H NMR. The 6F-SNPAEKs in acid form showed excellent thermal stability at elevated temperatures. The 6F-SNPAEK membranes were easily obtained by solution casting and properties for fuel cells were investigated in detail. The water uptake, swelling ratio and proton conductivity increased with degree of sulfonation (DS) and temperature. 6F-SNPAEK-90 showed the highest conductivity of 0.181 S cm^?1 at 80 °C. The methanol permeability of the membranes was in the range of 0.238–6.49 × 10^?7 cm² s^?1, compared to 1.55 × 10^?6 cm² s^?1 for Nafion 117. The membranes also showed excellent mechanical properties: the elongation at break was greater than 15%. These results indicate that the 6F-SNPAEK membranes are a promising candidate for use in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications.     

Processable high Tg high strength fluorinated new poly(arylene ether)s containing imido aryl group

A series of poly(arylene ether)s ( 7a–7f ) were successfully synthesized by aromatic nucleophilic substitution reactions of imidoaryl biphenol (5), 4,9‐bis‐(4‐hydroxy‐phenyl)‐2‐phenyl‐benzo[f]isoindole‐1,3‐dione with six different trifluoromethyl substituted bisfluoro monomers ( 6a–6f ). The weight‐average molar masses of the polymers were up to 280 kD as measured by GPC. These poly(arylene ether)s exhibited glass transition temperatures up to 361°C in DSC. These polymers showed very high thermal stability up to 558°C for 10% weight loss under synthetic air in TGA. Except 7d–7f, remaining polymers 7a–7c were soluble in a wide range of organic solvents. Transparent thin films of these polymers cast from DCM or NMP exhibited tensile strengths up to 75 MPa and elongation at break up to 41% depending on their exact repeating unit structures. These poly(arylene ether)s showed cut‐off wavelength in between 400 and 450 nm except 7d and water absorption were in the range of 0.4 to 0.6%. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011