Aromatic polymer and process
AssigneeImperial Chemical Industries PLC
InventorJames A. Daniels
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Aromatic polyethers are produced by polycondensing monomers containing phenolic groups and aromatic halogen, at least some of the aromatic halogen-containing monomers being free of activating groups such as --CO-- or --SO--, in the presence of a copper-containing catalyst and of a basic alkali metal compound present in stoichiometric excess relative to phenolic groups and copper. The products include new polyethers, particularly containing the repeating unit Ph.sup.1 --PH.sup.1 --O alone or with ketone containing or sulphone-containing units, where Ph.sup.1 is phenylene.
Claims12
A polymer consisting essentially of the repeating units
- (Ph.sup.1 --Ph.sup.1 --O) I
- and
- (Ph.sup.1 --CO--Ph.sup.1 --O) II
- where Ph.sup.1 is para-phenylene, characterised in that
- (a) the molar proportions of the two said repeating units, apart from any involved in chain-ends, is unequal;
- and/or
- (b) the mutual succession of the two said repeating units is non-regular.
A process for preparing an aromatic polymer comprising effecting in the presence of at least one base and at least one copper containing catalyst the condensation of reactants selected from a group consisting of at least one halophenol;
- or at least one bisphenol and at least one dihalobenzenoid compound;
- or at least one halophenol and a mixture of at least one bisphenol and at least one dihalobenzenoid compound, said process being characterized by:
- (a) the base being an alkali metal hydroxide, carbonate or bicarbonate and being present in an amount which is in stoichiometric excess relative to the phenolic groups present and to said copper containing catalyst;
- and by
- (b) the halophenol and/or the dihalobenzenoid compound comprising a compound of formula
- A--Ar--Y
- wherein:
- X is a halogen atom;
- Y is a group --OH or a halogen atom;
- and
- Ar is an aromatic radical which is a divalent aromatic hydrocarbon radical or a radical of the formula
- --Ph.sub.n --Q--Ph.sub.m --
- wherein:
- Ph is phenylene;
- Q is an oxygen atom, a sulphur atom or a divalent aliphatic hydrocarbon radical;
- and
- n and m, which may be the same or different, are integers selected from 1, 2 or 3.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.