Synthesis and Properties of Phosphorus-Containing Aromatic Polyethers

The phosphorus-containing aromatic polyethers were prepared from bis(p-chlorophenyl)phenylphosphine oxide (BCPO) with the sodium salt of several bisphenols by high temperature solution polycondensation. The best result (yield 84%, n _sp /c = 0.15) was obtained from BCPO with bisphenol A (BPA) in dimethyl sulfoxide. However, the polymerization in the solvents such as N, N′-dimethyl-2-pyrrolidone, hexamethylphosphoramide, and N,N′-dimethylformamide, and the polymerization with the other bisphenols HO-C₆H₄-X-C₆H₄?OH, where X = CO, S0₂, CH₃P(O), C₆H₅P(O) in place of BPA gave gumlike polymers. The polymer prepared from BCPO and BPA did not decompose up to ca. 300°C under air or nitrogen atmosphere, but it decomposed slowly at 300–520°C, and decomposed rapidly at 520–540°C. The activation energy (δE) for the maximum rate of weight loss was 47.8 kcal/mole.