END-CAPPED POLY(ARYL ETHER SULFONE) POLYMERS, POLY(ARYL ETHER SULFONE) BLOCK COPOLYMERS, AND CORRESPONDING SYNTHESIS METHODS

• Main Authors: POLLINO, Joel, BOOHER, Matthew, JEOL, Stéphane, BRANHAM, Kelly D
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 17.04.2024
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONSONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS; METALLURGY; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP

Described herein are end-capped poly(aryl ether sulfone) ("PAES") polymers and corresponding synthesis methods. The end-capped PAES polymers are end-capped by functionalizing a PAES polymer with a halophthalic diialkyl ester end-capping agent. It was surprisingly discovered that the resulting dialkyl phthalate end-capped PAES polymers could be synthesized with significantly improved end-capping conversion rates, relative to end-capped PAES polymers directly functionalized with traditional phthalic anhydride end-capping agents. It was also surprisingly found that by heating the isopropyl phthalate end-capped PAES polymers, the polymers could be converted to the corresponding phthalic anhydride end-capped PAES polymers, yielding a more efficient synthetic route to phthalic anhydride end-capped PAES polymers.