Preparation and characterization of poly (ether ether ketone)s containing benzimidazolone units

A series of novel poly(ether ether ketone)s containing benzimidazolone groups (PNBEEKs) with precise structures in high yields were synthesized from various stoichiometric ratio mixtures of benzimidazolone, 4,4′-dihydroxybenzophenone and 4,4′-difluorobnzophenone via a C–N/C–O coupling reaction process using sulfolane as a solvent. The reaction was carried out at 210 °C in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate. The structures of the resulted polymers were characterized by means of FT-IR, ¹H NMR spectroscopy, ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis, and the results were largely consistent with the proposed structure. XRD studies revealed that the incorporation of benzimidazolone groups increased the crystallinity of the resulted polymers. At the same time, as the benzimidazolone unit content in the copolymer increased, the solvent resistance properties and thermal properties of the prepared polymers improved. The polymers showed high glass transition temperatures (T_g?=?126–221 °C) and high thermal stability (T_d5%?=?497–593 °C in nitrogen, 466–588 °C in air). Moreover, the resulted polymers showed good fluorescence properties and the fluorescence emission peak was 435 nm.