| Abstract: | Aromatic polysters and copolyesters of high molecular weights with phenylindane units were prepared from combinations of 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,3-trimethyl-5-indanol and bisphenol A with isophthaloyl and terephthaloyl chloride by two-phase polycondensation in a nitrobenzene-water system with various phase-transfer catalysts. The phenylindane-containing polyesters and copolyesters were amorphous and readily soluble in a wide range of solvents that included chloroform, m-cresol, tetrahydrofuran, and dimethylformamide. The glass transition temperatures of the phenylindane-derived polyisophthalate and polyterephthalate were 235 and 253°C, respectively, which were higher than those of the corresponding bisphenol A analogs by some 50°C. These polymers began to lose weight around 400°C in air and nitrogen atmospheres. |
