GB959283A - Improvements in poly aromatic oxides - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention comprises polymers having an average molecular weight of at least 500, consisting of aromatic units linked by oxygen atoms, in which the aromatic units (a) are substituted by at least one alkyl, aryl, alkenyl, alkoxy, aryloxy or alkenyloxy radical or a combination of these radicals (such substituted radical when it contains an aliphatic carbon atom joining it to the aromatic nucleus, having at least one hydrogen atom alpha to the aromatic nucleus) and (b) at least one hydrogen atom meta to one of the oxygen atoms joining individual aromatic units, the polymer having terminal atoms or radicals at least one of which, if they existed in ionic form, would be an anion, and at least one of which would be a cation. The polymers are obtained from monomers of formula: <FORM:0959283/C3/1> where Ar is an aromatic nucleus, e.g. a benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, diphenyl, diphenyl alkane, diphenyl ether or diphenyl sulphide nucleus, R is the substituent mentioned above, X is an atom or radical which would be an anion in ionic form, chlorine, bromine, iodine, nitrate or sulphate, Y is an atom or radical which would be a cation if in ionic form, e.g. hydrogen, sodium, potassium, silver or lithium, a is at least 1, b is 1 or 2, c is 1 or 2, and d is 1, 2 or 3; polymerization occurs in the presence of a catalyst by linking Ar units through the oxygen atoms with removal of a compound XY. In examples polymers are obtained from 2,6-dimethyl-4-bromophenol, 2,6-diisopropyl -4- bromophenol, 2,6-diallyl -4- bromophenol and 2-phenyl -4- bromo -6- methyl phenol, the catalysts being iodine, ultraviolet light, silver oxide, lead tetra-acetate, potassium ferricyanide, benzoyl peroxide and lead dioxide. Other starting materials are mentioned.