NOVEL AROMATIC POLY(ETHER KETONE)S .2. SYNTHESIS AND THERMAL-PROPERTIES OF POLY(ETHER KETO AMIDE)S

Three groups of poly(ether keto amide)s have been prepared from tereph thalic (TERE), isophthalic (ISO) and sebacic (SB) acids condensed with six diamines containing four and five benzene rings linked together b y ether and ketone groups. The polymers proved to be soluble in dipola r aprotic solvents and could, in principle, be processed more easily t han current commercially available aromatic polyamides. The thermal pr operties (T(g), T(m) and decomposition temperature) of each have been evaluated, and the effect of the size of the diamine component and the use of meta versus para linkages examined. Rigorous evaluation of the data was hindered by a significant dependence of the thermal properti es on the molecular weight (as measured by inherent viscosity, IV) of the polymers. However, the T(g) of polymers was found to lie between t hat of simple polyarylamides and simple poly(aryl ether ketone)s, and to fall as the aryl ether and ketone content of the polymer increased, The polymers prepared with SB had lower T(g) values, as expected from their aliphatic content, and likewise was significantly lower for the polymers from SB.