Novel poly(aryl ether)s containing nitrile groups : synthesis, characterization and cross-linking studies

Four novel aromatic difluoride compounds were synthesized for use as monomers in nucleophilic aromatic displacement polymerization reactions. Attempts were then made to polymerize these monomers with a series of bisphenols, using potassium carbonate as a base, in a dipolar aprotic solvent as in equation 1. eqalign qquad{& rm K sb2CO sb3 cr rm F{-}Ar{-}F + HO{-}Ar{-}OH quad& rm quad longrightarrow quad quad bigl(O{-}AR{-}O{-}Ar bigr) sb{n} cr& rm Dipolar aprotic cr& rm solvent cr& rm 160-195 sp circ C cr} eqno(1) sing the reaction above, several novel poly(aryl ether)s have been produced and some of their physical properties, such as glass transition temperature and thermal stability, have been investigated. The polymers all contain nitrile groups which have potential to form cross-links upon heating, thereby increasing the use temperature and solvent resistance of the resulting materials. This cross-linking potential was investigated. Also, polymers containing the 9,10-dicyanophenanthrene moiety were prepared and then reacted with cuprous chloride and phthalonitrile to give poly(aryl ether)s containing copper phthalocyanine groups