Friedel-Crafts condensation, poly synthesis

In 1962, Bonner (14) at DuPont was the first one who reported the synthesis of wholly aromatic poly(ether ketone ketone)s (PEKK) by Friedel-Crafts acylation. Isophthaloyl chloride was condensed with diphenyl ether using nitrobenzene as solvent and aluminum trichloride as a catalyst. 

SCHOLL Poly aromatic synthesis Preparation of condensed polynuclear aromatics by Friedel-Crafts catalysts... 

Various synthetic approaches have been demonstrated for the synthesis of PAEs since early days [35 0], PAEs were synthesized by Ullmann condensation between bisphenols and aryl fcis-halide monomers using Cu(I) salt/pyridine as catalyst [36], General Electric developed the first commercially successful PAE poly(2,6-dimethyl phenylene oxide) (PPO) [38], It was prepared by oxidative coupling of 2,6-dimethyI phenol. However, this process has its own restrictions, because it does not allow much structural variation or inclusion of any electron-withdrawing group into the polymer main chain. First attempts to synthesize polysulfones (PSF) were successfully done by Friedel-Crafts sulfonylation reaction of arylenedisulfonyl chlorides, for example, diphenyl ether-4,4 -disulfonyl chloride with diaryl ethers, for example, diphenyl ether, or by self-condensation of 4-phenoxy benzene sulfonyl chloride in the presence of FeCls [41], Whereas the former reaction involves side reactions (sulfonylation not only in the para- but also in the ort/io-position), the latter produces only the desired linear all-para products. 

Tan et al. explored the synthesis of monomers that are monofunctional. They have synthesized two hypercrosslinked polymer networks of bishy-dro>ymethyl monomers, e.g., 1,4-benzenedimethanol (BDM), and mono-hydro>ymethyl compounds, e.g., benzyl alcohol (BA) by self-condensation. Precursors of polymers like polystyrene and poly(chloromethylstyrene) ° that are swollen, as well as polyfunctional benzyl chlorides, are synthesized by Friedel-Crafts allq lation in the presence of a Lewis acid. Hydroxymethyl and chloromethyl form a bond with the benzene ring in the presence of an acid catalyst,leading to the design of a new series of hypercrosslinked polymers prepared by directly using the building blocks of hydro)g7methyl aromatics (Figure 3.2). 

Other groups developed alternative methods toward the synthesis of poly(arylenemethine)s. For example, the condensation of 2-(chloromethyl)-5-formylfuran with pyrrole and thiophene, or the reaction of a,a,a -trichloro-p-xylene with aromatic compounds in the presence of Friedel-Crafts catalyst [842], was reported. The condensation of 2-lithiothiophene with 2,5 -dithiophenedicarbox-aldehyde or 2,5-dilithiothiophene with 2-formylthiophene gives a... 

The wide variety of coupling methods adapted from organic synthesis to condensation polymerization of just one CP can be appreciated from Fig. 5-12. for poly(pheny-lene). Typical condensations and eliminations adapted to syntheses of such CPs as poly(phenylene) and poly(phenylene vinylene) (P(PV)) are illustrated in Fig. 5-13. Fig. 5-14 shows the variety of precursor routes available to P(PV). More recently, the Yu group [86] has demonstrated application of Pd-catalyzed Stille and Heck reactions to the synthesis of poly(thiophene) (P(T)) derivatives (cf. Fig. 5-15. Besides the Grignard couplings such as shown in Eq. 1.6, Chapter 1, P(T) s can also be prepared via a variety of other procedures, such as Friedel-Crafts alkylation [87], and direct oxidation with FeClj as for P(Py) above. 

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