Rigid-rod polymers
AssigneeMaxdem Incorporated
InventorsMatthew Louis Marrocco, III, Robert R. Cagne, Mark Steven Trimmer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Rigid-rod and segmented rigid-rod polymers, methods for preparing the polymers and useful articles incorporating the polymers are provided. The polymers incorporate rigid-rod backbones with pendant solubilizing groups attached thereto for rendering the polymers soluble.
Claims19
A polymer comprising:
- (a) a plurality of paraphenylene monomer units joined together by carbon-carbon covalent bonds, wherein at least about 95% of the bonds are substantially parallel to each other;
- the polymer and its monomer starting materials being soluble in a common solvent system;
- and
- (b) a plurality of solubilizing organic groups pendant from the monomers, the number and size of the solubilizing organic groups being sufficient to render the polymer soluble in the polymerization solvent system, wherein the solubilizing organic groups are selected from the group consisting of sulfone, alkyl ketone, and aryl ketone.
A molecular composite comprising a polymer comprising:
- (a) a rigid-rod backbone comprising a chain of at least 25 paraphenylene monomer units joined together by covalent bonds wherein at least about 95% of the bonds are substantially parallel to each other;
- and
- (b) solubilizing organic groups attached to at least 1% of said paraphenylene monomer units, the number and size of the solubilizing organic groups being sufficient to provide said polymer with a solubility of at least 0.5% by weight in the polymerization solvent from which it was formed.
A molecular composite comprising a polymer having a backbone consisting of polyparaphenylene monomer units joined together by carbon-carbon covalent bonds, wherein at least about 95% of the bonds are substantially parallel to each other;
- and a plurality of aryl ketone solubilizing groups pendant from the monomers, the number and size of the solubilizing groups being sufficient to provide said polymer with a solubility of at least 0.5% by weight in the polymerization solvent from which it was formed.
A process for preparing a soluble polymer comprising a plurality of paraphenylene monomer units joined together by carbon-carbon covalent bonds, wherein at least about 95% of the bonds are substantially parallel to each other;
- and solubilizing organic groups are attached to the monomer, by treating a substituted paradihalobenzene monomer at a temperature of from about 25.degree. C. to about 100.degree. C. under transition metal catalyzed reductive-dehalogenation polymerization conditions, wherein the monomer is treated in an anhydrous solvent system in which the monomer and the resulting polymer are mutually soluble, the system incorporating a catalyst mixture comprising an anhydrous nickel compound and a ligand selected from the group consisting of a triaryl phosphine, wherein at least one equivalent of a reducing metal selected from the group consisting of magnesium and zinc is incorporated in the solvent system, and the system is under a protective atmosphere which is inert to the active catalytic species, and wherein the solubilizing organic groups are selected from the group consisting of sulfone, alkyl ketone, and aryl ketone.
A composition comprising a segmented rigid-rod polymer having the formula ##STR13## wherein ##STR14## is a rigid-rod polyphenylene segment, wherein each R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 on each monomer unit, independently, is H or a solubilizing side group where at least one out of 100 of the monomer units in the rigid-rod segments incorporate a solubilizing side group and --[A].sub.m -- are non-rigid-rod segments, and wherein the rigid-rod polyphenylene segments have a number average segment length (SL.sub.n) of at least about 8 and m is 1 or greater.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.