Reversible, Nondegradative Conversion of Crystalline Aromatic Poly(ether ketone)s into Organo-Soluble Poly(ether dithioketal)s

Crystalline aromatic poly(ether ketone)s such as PEEK and PEK may be cleanly and reversibly derivatized by dithioketalization of the carbonyl groups with 1,2-ethanedithiol or 1,3-propanedithiol under strong acid conditions. The resulting 1,3-dithiolane and 1,3-dithiane polymers are hydrolytically st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMacromolecules Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 1955 - 1963
Main Authors Colquhoun, Howard M, Hodge, Philip, Paoloni, François P. V, McGrail, P. Terry, Cross, Paul
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington, DC American Chemical Society 24.03.2009
Subjects
Applied sciences
Chemical modifications
Chemical reactions and properties
Exact sciences and technology
Organic polymers
Physicochemistry of polymers
Dithiol
Aromatic polymer
Polyetheretherketone
Reversible reaction
Ether polymer
Experimental study
Thermal stability
Cardo polymer
Chemical modification
Preparation
Soluble compound
Amorphous polymer
Sulfur containing polymer
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Summary:Crystalline aromatic poly(ether ketone)s such as PEEK and PEK may be cleanly and reversibly derivatized by dithioketalization of the carbonyl groups with 1,2-ethanedithiol or 1,3-propanedithiol under strong acid conditions. The resulting 1,3-dithiolane and 1,3-dithiane polymers are hydrolytically stable, amorphous, and readily soluble in organic solvents such as chloroform and THF and are thus (unlike their parent polymers) easily characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). GPC analysis of a range of derivatized PEEK samples using light-scattering detection revealed, in some instances, a bimodal molecular weight distribution with a small but potentially significant (and previously undetected) very high-molecular-weight fraction.
ISSN:0024-9297
1520-5835
DOI:10.1021/ma8023377