Crosslinkable polymers for optical waveguide devices. II. Fluorinated ether ketone oligomers bearing ethynyl group at the chain end

Fluorinated ether ketone oligomers bearing a crosslinkable ethynyl group at the chain end have been investigated for low-loss polymer optical waveguide devices. These oligomers are designed to achieve low birefringence and were synthesized by the reaction of 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphenol with an excess decafluorobenzophenone, followed by reaction with (phenylethynyl)phenol or ethynylphenol. The molecular weights (M_ns) and polydispersities of the oligomers determined by GPC with polystyrene standard are in the range of 6600–8500 g/mol and 1.79–2.04, respectively. By spin coating and thermal crosslinking, the polymer solutions easily provide the good optical quality thin films. The cured films show good chemical resistance and high thermal stability up to 460°C under nitrogen. At 1.55 µm wavelength, the refractive index and birefringence of the films show in the range of 1.5104–1.5172 and 0.0078–0.0014, respectively. The propagation loss of the single-mode channel waveguide was measured to be less than 0.5 dB/cm at 1.55 µm. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 2355–2361, 1999     

Controlled sulfonation of poly(arylene ether sulfone)s and poly(arylene ether ketone)s with different molecular structures for polymer electrolyte membranes

Poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymers derived from 9,9-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)fluorene, bisphenol S and 4,4′-difluorodiphenylsulfone and poly(arylene ether ketone) copolymers derived from 4-phenoxybiphenyl, diphenyl ether and isophthaloyl chloride were prepared as precursor polymers for sulfonation reaction in which sulfonic groups are introduced quantitatively into specified positions. Sulfonation reaction for these two series of copolymers by concentrated sulfuric acid was successfully carried out to give sulfonated polymers with controlled positions and degree of sulfonation. Thermal stability, moisture absorption and proton conductivity for these two series of copolymers were measured and the results were compared to those of perfluorosulfonic acid polymers.     

Synthesis and optical properties of fluorinated poly(arylene ether phosphine oxide)s

Fluorinated dihydroxy phosphine oxide monomers were synthesized via chlorination, Grignard, and demethylation techniques. The prepared monomer was successfully polymerized with each of the three perfluorinated monomers (decafluorobiphenyl, decafluorobenzophenone, and pentafluorophenylsulfide) by nucleophilic aromatic substitution. The average molecular weight ranged between 7800 and 14,900 g/mol. The glass‐transition temperatures of the polymers were registered in the range of 185–235 °C, and all the polymers exhibited high thermal stability up to 326–408 °C. The results of the refractive‐index measurements indicated control of the refractive index between 1.5181 and 1.5536 and an optical loss of 0.53 dB/cm at 1550 nm. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1497–1503, 2003     

Synthesis of crosslinkable fluorinated polyesters for optical waveguide devices

A series of novel crosslinkable, highly fluorinated polyesters were synthesized by copolycondensation reactions of terephthaloyl chloride with 4, 4′‐(hexafluoroisopropy‐lidene)‐diphenol and 2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7‐dodecafluoro‐octane‐1,8‐diol, followed by reaction with 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate. The resulting polyesters with the molecular weights (M_n: 12,100–20,000 g mol^?1) and polydispersities (1.49–2.25) were useful for the fabrication of polymer optical devices because of their good solubility in common organic solvent and the processable flexibility. The ratios of the components of the polyesters were characterized by FTIR and NMR. The polyesters had high glass transition temperature (T_g,: up to 170 °C) and good thermal stabilities (T_d: up to 470 °C). The refractive index of the polyester film was tuned and controlled in the range of 1.447–1.576 at 1550 nm by monitoring the component fractions during the preparation procedures. Low‐loss optical waveguides were fabricated from the resulting polyesters and the propagation loss of the channel waveguides was measured to be around 0.56 dB/cm at 1550 nm. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5923–5931, 2007     

Poly(arylene ether)s,poly(arylene thioether)s,and poly(arylene sulfone)s derived from a dihydroxy(imidoarylene) monomer

Novel poly(arylene ether)s, poly(arylene thioether)s, and poly(arylene sulfone)s were synthesized from the dihydroxy(imidoarylene) monomer 1 . The syntheses of poly(arylene ether)s were carried out in DMAc in the presence of anhydrous K₂CO₃ by a nucleophilic substitution reaction between the bisphenol and activated difluoro compounds. Poly(arylene thioether)s were synthesized according to the recently discovered one-pot polymerization reaction between a bis(N,N′-dimethyl-S-carbamate) and activated difluoro compounds in the presence of a mixture of Cs₂CO₃ and CaCO₃. The bis(N,N′-dimethyl-S-carbamate) 3 was synthesized by the thermal rearrangement reaction of bis(N,N′-dimethylthiocarbamate) 2 , which was synthesized from 1 by a phase-transfer catalyzed reaction. The poly(arylene thioether)s were further oxidized to form poly(arylene sulfone)s, which would be very difficult, if not impossible, to synthesize by other methods. All of the polymers described have extremely high T_gs and thermal stability as determined from DSC and TGA analysis. Poly(arylene sulfone)s have the highest T_gs and they are in the range of 298–361°C. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1201–1208, 1998     

Novel Photosensitive Fluorinated Poly(arylene ether) Having Zero Birefringence

Summary: A novel photosensitive fluorinated poly(arylene ether) containing chalcone units was synthesized from decafluorinated chalcone and fluorinated bisphenol at low temperature. Upon UV irradiation, the refractive indices of the polymer film were decreased because of the reduction of electronic polarizability in the chalocone moiety. The decrease was more significant in the in‐plane direction than in the out‐of‐plane direction, and consequently, zero birefringence (at 632.8 nm) was obtained after 90 s of exposure.

The changes in the refractive indices and the birefringence of chalcone‐containing fluorinated poly(arylene ether) films synthesized and measured at 632.8 nm with respect to UV irradiation time.     

Synthesis,characterization, and comparison of properties of new fluorinated poly(arylene ether)s containing phthalimidine moiety in the main chain

Four new poly(arylene ether)s have been prepared by the reaction of N‐phenyl‐3,3‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)phthalimidine (PA) with four different perfluoroalkylated monomers namely 1,3‐bis(4′‐fluoro‐3′‐trifluoromethyl benzyl) benzene, 4,4′‐bis(4′‐fluoro‐3′‐trifluoromethyl benzyl) biphenyl, 2,6‐bis(4′‐fluoro‐3′‐trifluoromethyl benzyl) pyridine, and 2,5‐bis(4′‐fluoro‐3′‐trifluoromethyl benzyl) thiophene. The poly(arylene ether)s were characterized by different spectroscopic, thermal, mechanical, and electrical techniques. The poly(arylene ether) containing quadriphenyl unit in the main chain showed very high glass transition temperature of 291°C and outstanding thermal stability upto 556°C for 10% weight loss under a 4:1 nitrogen:oxygen mixture. The polymers were soluble in a wide range of organic solvents. Transparent thin films of these polymers exhibited tensile strengths upto 75 MPa and elongation at break upto 32%. The films of these polymers showed low water absorption of 0.26%. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fluorinated poly(arylene ether ketone)s bearing pentafluorostyrene moieties prepared by a modified polycondensation

The polycondensation of decafluorobenzophenone with hexafluorobisphenol A was modified by the addition of a molecular sieve dehydrating apparatus to the refluxing reaction system. This modification promoted the polymerization and enabled the reactions to be conducted in milder conditions and completed in a shorter time, thereby depressing side reactions such as branching and crosslinking. The resulting fluorinated poly(arylene ether ketone)s (FPAEK) were free of gel particles and possessed the designed molecular weights. This modified procedure was also suitable for introducing crosslinkable pentafluorostyrene (FSt) moieties into the polymers at the chain ends and/or inside the chain with the vinyl group of FSt being pendant. The resulting FSt containing fluorinated poly(arylene ether ketone)s (FPAEK‐FSt) can then be thermally crosslinked at 100 °C in the presence of 1% benzoyl peroxide (BPO) or at 250 °C without any initiator. The glass‐transition temperatures (T_g's) of FPAEK increased with increasing molecular weight and leveled off at about 147 °C for the polymer with a number‐average molecular weight of 18,600 Da, whereas the values were not apparently affected by the addition of FSt units. However, crosslinking of the FPAEK‐FSt resulted in an approximate 30 °C increase of the T_g. Spin‐coating FPAEK‐FSt onto silicon wafers followed by crosslinking gave films with excellent thermal stability, physical strength, and adhesion to the substrate as well as good reproducibility in terms of film preparation and optical properties. The refractive index and birefringence of the films measured at a wavelength of 1.55 μm were 1.502 and 2.5 × 10^?3, respectively. © 2002 Government of Canada. Exclusive worldwide publication rights in the article have been transferred to Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 4205–4216, 2002     

Gas transport properties of novel poly(arylene ether ketone)s containing dibenzoylbiphenyl and benzonaphthone moieties

In this work we present the results from studies on novel poly(arylene ether ketone)s, including gas permeability, wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Poly(arylene ether ketone)s containing 2,2′- and 3,3′-dibenzoylbiphenyl (DBBP) moieties were characterized to study the effect of biphenyl substitution on gas transport properties. Gas permeabilities of naphthalene-containing poly(arylene ether ketone)s were also measured. Higher permeabilities were observed for polymers prepared with 6F-BPA, compared to 9,9-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)fluorene (HPF). The naphthalene-containing polymers exhibited higher permeabilities than the DBBP polymers, except for a polymer having the 2,2′-DBBP and tetramethylbiphenyl moieties. Based on our work, and results reported in the literature, the 3,3′-DBBP polymers showed the lowest permeabilities for DBBP-containing poly-(arylene ether ketone)s. The low permeabilities are due to more efficiently packed chains brought on by greater flexibility of the backbone, compared to the other polymers studied. DMA studies confirmed the higher barriers to rotation which are believed to be responsible for 2,2′-DBBP polymers having similar selectivities compared to 3,3′-DBBP polymers. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 425–431, 1998     

Poly(arylene ether)s and poly(arylene thioether)s containing the 1,2-dihydro-4-phenyl(2H)- phthalazinone moiety

A series of new high molecular weight poly(arylene ether)s containing the 1,2-dihydro-4-phenyl(2H)phthalazinone moiety have been synthesized. The inherent viscosities of these polymers are in the range of 0.33–0.64 dL/g. They are amorphous and readily soluble in chloroform, DMF, and DMAc. The glass transition temperatures of the polymers range from 241 to 320°C and the 5% weight loss temperatures in nitrogen atmosphere range from 473 to 517°C. The hydroxy group in the monomer 1,2-dihydro-4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)(2H)phthalazin-1-one has been selectively transformed into the N,N′-dimethylthiocarbamate group, which was then rearranged to give the S-(N,N′-dimethylcarbamate) group via the Newman–Kwart rearrangement reaction. A series of poly(arylene thioether)s containing the 1,2-dihydro-4-phenyl(2H)phthalazinone moiety have also been synthesized via two types of reactions, a N C coupling reaction and a one-pot reaction between the S-(N,N′-dimethylcarbamate) and activated dihalo compounds, in diphenyl sulfone in the presence of a cesium carbonate and calcium carbonate mixture. These poly(arylene thioether)s also have high glass transition temperatures (ranging from 217–303°C) and high thermal stabilities. Compared with their poly(ether) analogs, the poly(arylene thioether)s have glass transition temperatures several degrees lower, which is attributed to the more flexible C S C bonds. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36 : 455–460, 1998     

All-organic polymer blend dielectrics of poly (arylene ether urea) and polyimide: Toward high energy density and high temperature applications

The development of high-performance dielectric films with high energy density and temperature stability is extremely desired for modern electronics and power systems. Herein, a simple and low-cost approach is proposed to fabricate all-organic blend films prepared from poly (arylene ether urea) (PEEU) and polyimide (PI) via solution casting and thermal imidization process. The incorporation of PEEU in PI matrix significantly improved dielectric breakdown strength and dielectric constant of PI. More precisely, blend film with 15 wt% PEEU exhibited highest energy density 5.14 J/cm³ at 495.65 MV/m, with enhanced dielectric constant of 4.73 and very low dissipation factor of 0.299%. Furthermore, the dielectric properties of the PEEU/PI blend displayed wonderful temperature stability in the range of − 50–+ 250°C, and great frequency stability between 10 and 10⁶ Hz. The blend film also exhibited excellent heat resistance and presented valuable potential in thin film capacitors for high voltage direct current system.     

Poly(arylene ether ether nitrile)s containing flexible alkylsulfonated side chains for polymer electrolyte membranes

A series of poly(arylene ether ether nitrile)s with different chain lengths of the alkylsulfonates (SPAEEN‐x: x refers number of the methylene units) are successfully synthesized for fuel cell applications. The polymers produced flexible and transparent membranes by solvent casting. The resulting membranes display a high thermal stability, oxidative stability, and higher proton conductivity than that of Nafion 117 at 80 °C and 95% relative humidity (RH). Furthermore, the SPAEEN‐12 with the longest alkylsulfonated side chain exhibits a higher proton conductivity at 30% RH than that of SPAEEN‐6 despite the lower IEC value, which indicates that the introduction of longer alkylsufonated side chains to the polymer main chain induces an efficient proton conduction by the formation of a well‐developed phase‐separated morphology. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 21–29     

Synthesis and characterization of new poly(arylene ether)s containing heterocyclic units. II.

A series of new poly(arylene ether)s, containing naphthalene, pyridine, and quinoline units have been prepared by solution condensation polymerization. The synthesis involves nucleophilic displacement of aromatic dihalides with aromatic potassium bisphenates in an anhydrous dipolar aprotic solvent at elevated temperatures. The polymers, having inherent viscosity from 0.24 to 1.32 dL/g, were obtained in quantitative yield, have excellent thermal stability as shown by 10% weight loss temperatures in nitrogen and air (above 450 and 430°C, respectively) and high glass transition temperatures (in the range of 150–220°C). The introduction of quinoline moieties in the polymer backbone positively influences the thermal properties, such as high T_g/T_m ratios. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Dynamic mechanical behavior of fluorinated aromatic poly(ethers)

The relaxation behavior of six fluorinated aromatic poly(ethers) was investigated using dynamic mechanical analysis. The glass transition temperature was found to increase as the size and rigidity of linking groups increased and varied between 168°C for a dimethyl linking group and 300°C for a bicyclic benzoate ether-linking group. For the α-relaxation the steepness of time/temperature plots and broadness of the loss curves could be qualitatively correlated with chemical structure in a manner predicted by the coupling model of relaxation. Well-separated sub-T_g transitions were also observed, as a shoulder on the low temperature side of the α-peak, and as a broad, low loss transition around −100°C. The higher temperature process was similar to the structural relaxation often found in quenched glassy polymers, while the position, intensity, and breadth of the subambient process was sensitive to chemical structure. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 1963–1971, 1997     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(arylene ether ketone)s bearing pendant sulfonic acid groups for proton exchange membrane materials

A bisphenol monomer (2,5‐dimethoxy)phenylhydroquinone was prepared and further polymerized to obtain poly(arylene ether ketone) copolymers containing methoxy groups. After demethylation and sulfobutylation, a series of novel poly(arylene ether ketone)s bearing pendant sulfonic acid group (SPAEKs) with different sulfonation content were obtained. The chemical structures of all the copolymers were analyzed by ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectra. Flexible and tough membranes with reasonably good mechanical properties were prepared. The resulting side‐chain‐type SPAEK membranes showed good dimensional stability, and their water uptake and swelling ratio were lower than those of conventional main‐chain‐type SPAEK membranes with similar ion exchange capacity. Proton conductivities of these side‐chain‐type sulfonated copolymers were higher than 0.01 S/cm and increased gradually with increasing temperature. Their methanol permeability values were in the range of 1.97 × 10^?7–5.81 × 10^?7 cm²/s, which were much lower than that of Nafion 117. A combination of suitable proton conductivities, low water uptake, low swelling ratio, and high methanol resistance for these side‐chain‐type SPAEK films indicated that they may be good candidate material for proton exchange membrane in fuel cell applications. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Synthesis and thermal properties of poly(arylene ether ketone)s containing phthalazinone moieties

A series of novel poly(arylene ether ketone)s were synthesized from the reaction of hydroquinone and 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2,3-phthalazin-1-one with 4,4′-difluorobenzophenone in N-cyclohexylpyrrolidinone containing anhydrous potassium carbonate. The polymers exhibited high glass transition temperatures together with excellent thermooxidative stability. The chain structure of these polymers was studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide-angle X-ray diffraction techniques (WAXD), and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The experimental results indicated that these “as-made” copoly(aryleneketone)s containing hydroquinone moieties exhibited a block chain structure with segments which mainly consisted of hydroquinone and 4,4′-difluorobenzophenone. These chain segments resulted in crystallites in the polymers although they are thermodynamically unstable. The polymers showed thermal properties comparable to commercial PEEK, but the conditions for synthesis are much milder. The glass transition temperatures and solubilities of the copoly(arylene ketone)s tended to increase with increasing phthalazinone moiety content, while the crystallite melting points and crystallinity appeared to decrease. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1781–1788, 1999     

Self-Crosslinkable poly(arylene ether)s containing pendent phenylenetriazene groups

Self-crosslinkable poly(arylene ether)s 6 , and 8 , containing pendent triazene groups were prepared by nucleophilic substitution reaction of poly(arylene ether)s 5 , and 7 , respectively, with 1-[4-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)phenylene]triazenes, 4 , in the presence of potassium carbonate in N,N-dimethylacetamide. A series of triazenes 4 containing various substituents have been synthesized. Self-crosslinkable polymer 6e containing phenyl-substituted triazene pendants can be crosslinked at 215°C, which is about 40°C lower than the glass transition temperature of the virgin base polymer 5 . The degree of crosslinking can be tailored by varying the concentration of the pendent phenylenetriazene groups in the polymer. After curing, the flexible polymer films (ca. 10 μm thick) exhibit high gel contents, increased glass transition temperatures, improved resistance to organic solvents, and little change in dielectric constant and thermal stability. These self-crosslinkable poly(arylene ether)s are potential candidates for electronic applications. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Side-Chain Sulfonated Poly(arylene ether)s for Fuel Cell Applications

Summary: Poly(arylene ether sulfone)s of high molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution were obtained by melt polycondensation of 4,4′-difluorodiphenyl- sulfone and trimethylsilylethers of 4,4′-dihydroxydiphenylsulfone and phenylhydroquinone using CsF as catalyst. Although a block-like structure of the polymers could be expected from the course of reaction, only a single T_g ranging from 190 °C to 230 °C could be detected by DSC and which depended on the copolymer composition. Contrary to the sulfonation of similar poly(ether ether ketone)s the poly(arylene ether sulfone)s here reported were sulfonated both in the side chain and the main chain. Nonetheless the sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s showed high hydrolytic stability in water at 130 °C.     

Synthesis and properties of poly(arylene ether)s bearing sulfonic acid groups on pendant phenyl rings

Two kinds of new aromatic poly(arylene ether)s containing sulfonic acid groups were synthesized. Polymer 1 composed of tetraphenylphenylene ether and perfluorobiphenylene units was sulfonated with chlorosulfonic acid. Sulfonation took place only at the para position of the pendant phenyl rings. The average degree of sulfonation per repeating unit (m) was controlled from 1 to 4. Sulfonated polymer 2 with m = 3 was soluble in methanol and dimethyl sulfoxide and swelled in water. Incorporating bis(3,5‐dimethylphenyl)sulfone moieties into the sulfonated polymer imparts less methanol affinity. Polymers 4 with 30–65 mol % tetrakis(sulfophenyl)phenylene ether units has high decomposition temperatures above 300 °C, hydrophilicity, and good hydrolytic stability. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3211–3217, 2001     

New poly(arylene ether)s with pendant phosphonic acid groups

Soluble brominated poly(arylene ether)s containing mono‐ or dibromotetraphenylphenylene ether and octafluorobiphenylene units were synthesized. The polymers were high molecular weight (weight‐average molecular weight = 115,100–191,300; number‐average molecular weight = 32,300–34,000) and had high glass‐transition temperatures (>279 °C) and decomposition temperatures (>472 °C). The brominated polymers were phosphonated with diethylphosphite by a palladium‐catalyzed reaction. Quantitative phosphonation was possible when 50 mol % of a catalyst based on bromine was used. The diethylphosphonated polymers were dealkylated by a reaction with bromotrimethylsilane in carbon tetrachloride followed by hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid. The polymers with pendant phosphonic acid groups were soluble in polar solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide and gave flexible and tough films via casting from solution. The polymers were hygroscopic and swelled in water. They did not decompose at temperatures of up to 260 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3770–3779, 2001