SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF FLEXIBLE POLY(ETHER KETONE) BACKBONES, GRAFTED WITH STIFF, MONODISPERSE SIDE-CHAINS

Poly(arylene ether ketone)s with pendant, monodisperse oligobenzamide and oligobenzoate side chains facilitated a study of the effect of hyd rogen bonding on chain interactions. A stepwise condensation reaction between acid chlorides and amine or alcohol functions was used to synt hesize new series of carboxy-terminated oligobenzamides and oligobenzo ates. These oligomers as well as benzoyl chloride were then reacted wi th two isomeric amino-functionalized poly(arylene ether ketone)s, to l ead to modified polymers 10-13. The polymers were charaterized by H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, and IR spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography. The influences of the length and chemical nature of the side chain on the thermal and mechanical properties were studied. The transformed po lymers showed different thermal and mechanical behavior, depending on the length and chemical nature of the side chain. Polymers with pendan t oligobenzoates, for example, had lower T(g)s and Young's modulus in comparison to the respective polymers with oligobenzamide side chains. These results establish the considerable importance of hydrogen bondi ng on the improvement of the polymer properties.