Synthesis of new ordered aromatic polyester copolymers

Aromatic polyesters of 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid and 3,5-diisopropyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid were prepared. The polymers were found to be high-melting but largely insoluble in organic solvents. The polymer based on 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxy-benzoic acid was not degraded to monomer by sulfuric acid. A number of new aromatic polyesters were also prepared. Several new monomers for aromatic polyesters were synthesized, including bis(2,5-di-tert-butyl-4-carbophenoxyphenyl)terephthalate, m- and p-phenylene bis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoate), bis(2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-chlorocarboxyphenyl)terephthalate, and m-phenylene bis(3,5-diisopropyl-4-hydroxybenzoate). An aromatic polyester prepared from bis(2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-chlorocarboxyphenyl) terephthalate and resorcinol had a η_inh (trichloroethylene) of 1.05 (0.5%, 30°C) and a possible melting point of 330°C (DSC). Tough, creasable films could be cast from trichloroethylene solution of this polymer. Attempts to observe or to trap the keto-ketene that might result when 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoyl chloride is treated with base were unsuccessful.