Aromatic polyester polymers, properties

In the late 1980s, new fully aromatic polyester fibers were iatroduced for use ia composites and stmctural materials (18,19). In general, these materials are thermotropic Hquid crystal polymers that are melt-processible to give fibers with tensile properties and temperature resistance considerably higher than conventional polyester textile fibers. Vectran (Hoechst-Celanese and Kuraray) is a thermotropic Hquid crystal aromatic copolyester fiber composed of -hydroxyben2oic acid [99-96-7] and 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid. Other fully aromatic polyester fiber composites have been iatroduced under various tradenames (19). 

Liquid crystal polymers (LCP) are a recent arrival on the plastics materials scene. They have outstanding dimensional stability, high strength, stiffness, toughness and chemical resistance all combined with ease of processing. LCPs are based on thermoplastic aromatic polyesters and they have a highly ordered structure even in the molten state. When these materials are subjected to stress the molecular chains slide over one another but the ordered structure is retained. It is the retention of the highly crystalline structure which imparts the exceptional properties to LCPs. 

Wholly aromatic polyesters, in which both R1 and R2 are aromatic, are either high-7 amorphous polymers or veiy high melting semicrystalline polymers that often exhibit liquid crystalline properties. 

Phthalazinone, 355 synthesis of, 356 Phthalic anhydride, 101 Phthalic anhydride-glycerol reaction, 19 Physical properties. See also Barrier properties Dielectric properties Mechanical properties Molecular weight Optical properties Structure-property relationships Thermal properties of aliphatic polyesters, 40-44 of aromatic-aliphatic polyesters, 44-47 of aromatic polyesters, 47-53 of aromatic polymers, 273-274 of epoxy-phenol networks, 413-416 molecular weight and, 3 of PBT, PEN, and PTT, 44-46 of polyester-ether thermoplastic elastomers, 54 of polyesters, 32-60 of polyimides, 273-287 of polymers, 3... 

Crystalline polymers exhibit the following basic properties They are opaque as long as the size of the crystallites or spherulites, respectively, lies above the wavelength of light. Their solubility is restricted to few organic solvents at elevated temperature. The following crystalline polymers have attained technical importance as thermoplastic materials polyethylene, polypropylene, aliphatic polyamides, aliphatic/aromatic polyamides, aliphatic/aromatic polyesters, poly-oxymethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, poly(phenylene sulfide), poly(arylene ether ketone)s. 

The general correlations of structure and properties of homopolymers are summarized in Table 2.13. Some experiments which demonstrate the influence of the molecular weight or the structure on selected properties of polymers are described in Examples 3-6 (degree of polymerization of polystyrene and solution viscosity), 3-15, 3-21, 3-31 (stereoregularity of polyisoprene resp. polystyrene), 4-7 and 5-11 (influence of crosslinking) or Sects. 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 (stiffness of the main chain of aliphatic and aromatic polyesters and polyamides). 

Aliphatic polyesters are the most economically competitive of the biodegradable polymers moreover, synthetic polyesters are expected to be degraded nonspecifi-cally by lipases. Although these polyesters are biodegradable, they often lack good thermal and mechanical properties. On the other hand, aromatic polyesters - such as... 

Compared with other polymeric materials. LCPs have very high unidirectional properties. Iei/nt7 1 (Celanese Corp.t resins are primarily aromatic polyesters based on p-hydroxybenzoic acid and hydroxynaphthoic acid monomers. Xytlar " (Celanese Carp.) injection molding resins are polyesters based on terephthalic acid. />. p -dihydruxybiphenyl and p-hydroxybenzoic acid Differences in monomers are primarily responsible for the differences in specific properties and end uses. The fibrous nature of the polymers imparls good impact strengths. 

Some polymers show discoloration as well as reduction of the mechanical properties (e.g. aromatic polyesters, aromatic polyamides, polycarbonate, polyurethanes, poly (phenylene oxide, polysulphone), others show only a deterioration of the mechanical properties (polypropylene, cotton) or mainly yellowing (wool, poly(vinyl chloride)). This degradation may be less pronounced when an ultraviolet absorber is incorporated into the polymer. The role of the UV-absorbers (usually o-hydroxybenzophenones or o-hydroxyphenylbenzotriazoles) is to absorb the radiation in the 300-400 nm region and dissipate the energy in a manner harmless to the material to be protected. UV-protection of polymers can be well achieved by the use of additives (e.g. nickel chelates) that, by a transfer of excitation energy, are capable of quenching electronically excited states of impurities (e.g. carbonyl groups) present in the polymer (e.g. polypropylene). 

For conventional technical applications aromatic polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) are widely used. But these polymers are biologically inert and thus not directly applicable as biodegradable plastics. Combining both the excellent material properties of aromatic polyesters and the potential biodegradability of aliphatic polyesters has led to the development of a number of commercially available aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters over the last decade or so. 

The solution is a combination of aliphatic polyesters and aromatic polyesters. This involves modifying the crystalline structure of PBT by incorporating aliphatic monomer (adipic acid) in the polymer chain in such a way that the material properties of the polymer would remain acceptable (e.g., melting point of the crystalline range still around 100 °C), but the polymer would also be readily compostable/biodegradable. In this way it was possible to combine the degradability of aliphatic polyesters with the outstanding properties of aromatic polyesters. 

Copolymerization can be employed in a similar fashion to modify the properties of the homopolymer of /7-hydroxybenzoic add (5-6). Poly(/ -hydroxybenzoic acid) is an infusible polymer which can be shaped only by compression sintering. A melt processable variation of this high modulus, thermally stable material can be made, however, by copolymerizing an ester of 5-6 with equimolar quantities of terephthalic acid (5-7) and biphenol (5-8) to produce an aromatic polyester which can be fabricated at temperatures near400 C but still retain many useful properties at 300°C. 

Several fundamental studies have shown the importance of monomer sequence distribution on mesophase behavior (26). Simply changing the direction of ester linkages in a chain affects the transition temperatures, the range of the mesophase stability and, in some cases, even the mesophase texture (2Z). Polyester chains are susceptible to transesterification, which raises the question of which sequence structure is actually responsible for the properties observed for a given polymer. A recent study of aromatic LC polymers by neutron scattering indicates that transesterification occurs in the mesophase at rates twice that in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (28). Such behavior has also been observed to occur in other aromatic polyesters where rapid sequence redistribution was detected by nmr, see for example, the chapters by Jin and Economy et al. The temperature dependence of this effect has not been fully explored, and it may not be as pronounced in those polymers which exhibit mesophase behavior at lower temperatures, for example, those with aliphatic spacers. 

We already have reported on the replacement of the terephthalic acid with kinked diphenylether dicarboxylic acids (4). 3,4 - and 4,4 -Dicarboxydiphenylether (3,4 -0 and 4,4 -0) were synthesized and all-aromatic polyesters were prepared represented by structure 1. These polyesters were thermotropic with melt transitions decreasing to about 200°C with increasing replacement of the terephthalic acid with the kinked monomers. The polymers generally were thermally stable without measurable weight loss until well over 400°C. We wish here to supplement our previous studies with rheological measurements and fiber spinning of the polymers, including some measurements of fiber properties. 

Apart from ZHS and ZS, little work has generally been undertaken on tin-based Are retardants in nonhalogen polymer systems. However, certain tin(II) compounds have shown excellent flame-retardant and smoke-suppressant properties when incorporated at levels of 20-30% into aromatic polyesters, specifically polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). Hence, tin(ll) oxide, tin(II) oxalate, and tin(II) phosphate have been shown to markedly increase flame retardancy in PBT, whereas, interestingly, tin(IV) oxide is almost totally ineffective in the same polymeric substrate. 

Preparation and characterization of highly branched aromatic polymers, polyphenylenes, polyesters, polyethers, and polyamides, were reviewed. These polymers were prepared from condensation of AB -type monomers, which gave noncrosslinked, highly branched polymers. The polymer properties are vastly different compared to their linear analogs due to their resistance to chain entanglement and crystallization. 

Thermally stable copolymers of 3-(trimethylsiloxyl)- and 3,5-bis(trimethylsiloxyl)benzoyl chloride (4A) or 3-acetoxy- and 3,5-diace-toxy-benzoic acid (4B) were prepared with mole ratios of AB AB2 monomer ranging from 160-5.32 Polymers containing 10-20 mole % of branching monomers were insoluble in CHC13 but soluble in polar solvents, such as A,A-dimethylformamide (DMF) or a mixture of pyridine and benzene. Compared to the linear homopolymer of 3-hydroxy-benzoic acid, the branched polymer showed lower crystallinity and slower crystallization. There was an inverse linear relationship between percent crystallinity and the number of branches in the chain. Similarly, in an attempt to improve moldability and decrease anisotropy of rigid aromatic polyesters, 0.3-10 mole % of 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene, 3,5-di-hydroxybenzoic acid, and 5-hydroxyisophthalic acid were copolymerized with p-hydroxybenzoic acid/terephthalic acid/4,4 -dihydroxy-diphenyl.33 The branched polymer showed a lower orientation and possessed improved flex properties. 

It has been noted (Scheirs, 2000) that this leads to a dramatic decrease in viscosity that renders the polymer unprocessable or, at the best, results in defects such as haze due to crystallites that nucleate more readily from the lower-molar-mass, degraded polymer. The rate of loss of properties due to hydrolysis is orders of magnitude faster than oxidative degradation at the same temperature. To avoid these effects, the moisture level in an aromatic polyester such as PET must be kept below 0.02%. 

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