Synthesis and properties of novel block-structured polyarylates containing fluorene: a two-step interface polymerization

Abstract

Random and block polyarylates were synthesized using bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol fluorene (BHPF), terephthaloyl chloride (TPC), and isophthaloyl chloride (IPC) as raw materials. The synthesis strategies of one-step and stepwise interfacial polymerization methods were adopted. Both types of polyarylates exhibited similar solubility, with block polyarylates showing slightly broader solvent selectivity. The presence of large sterically hindered fluorene groups in BHPF monomers rendered both block and random polyarylates amorphous by restricting the movement of macromolecular segments. The polyarylates demonstrated excellent thermal stability (T_5% = around 490 °C) and a high glass transition temperature (T_g > 210 °C). As the covalent bonds of the monomer linkage showed no significant difference, the thermal stability of both types of products was similar. The glass transition temperature increased with an increase in TPC and diefluorene monomer content. The tensile strengths of the random and block polyarylate films ranged from 45.77–69.89 MPa and 49.49–55.29 MPa, respectively, indicating the high tensile strength of the resulting polyarylates. While the block polyarylates did not show significant differences from the conventional properties of random polyarylates, the synthesis of block polyarylates in this study represents a novel attempt, further highlighting the significant influence of the large pendant group of the main chain on the ordered arrangement of molecular segments.