New semicrystalline block copolymers of poly(arylene ether sulfone)s and poly(1,4-cyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate)

Abstract

Multiblock copolymers of poly(arylene ether sulfones) (PAESs) and poly(1,4-cyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate) (PCT) were synthesized via melt-phase polymerization. PAES oligomers (Mn = 2000 g/mol) were synthesized with hydroxyethoxyl end groups, and then reacted with dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM) to obtain segmented copolymers with the goal of introducing semi-crystallinity into the PAES segmented block copolymers. Two CHDMs (all trans and cis/trans = 30/70) were used for comparison. Weight percentages of PCT segments varied from 20 wt% to 80 wt%. According to the results measured by DSC, DMA and WAXS, the copolymers crystallized when the content of PCT segment was above 50 wt%, and the crystallinity of the copolymers exhibited a proportional dependence on the weight percentage of PCT segments. Segmented copolymers with trans-CHDM as the polyester segment exhibited a higher level of crystallinity than the 30/70 CHDM mixture.