Synthesis and characterization of trifluoromethylated poly(aryl ether ketone)s

Abstract

AbstractConsiderable attention has been devoted to the preparation of fluorine‐containing polymers due to their unique properties and high‐temperature performance. In this paper, we report the synthesis of novel fluorine‐containing poly(aryl ether ketone)s with (3‐fluoromethyl)phenyl or (3,5‐difluoromethyl)phenyl moieties. Novel 3F‐polymers and 6F‐polymers are synthesized from fluorinated bisphenols and dihalides via an aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction. The high‐molecular‐weight polymers could be obtained despite the steric effect of the bulky pendant groups. The Tgs of polymers ranged from 136 °C to 163 °C. All the polymers exhibited high thermal stability. 3F‐PEEK and 6F‐PEEK showed excellent solubility. The strong, flexible and colorless films were easily obtained by solution casting and compression molding. The near‐infrared spectra showed that the films of 3F‐PEEK and 6F‐PEEK had small light absorption at the telecommunication wavelengths of 1.3 µm and 1.55 µm. Furthermore, 3F‐PEEK, 3F‐PEEKK, 6F‐PEEK, and 6F‐PEEKK exhibited low dielectric constants. The dielectric constants were 2.70, 2.76, 2.69 and 2.78 respectively at 1 MHz. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.