Miscellaneous Carbonic Ester Polymers

Unless the hydroxyl groups have such proximity that cyclisation takes place, polycarbonates will normally be produced whenever phosgene or a carbonate ester is reacted with a polyhydroxy compound. This means that a very large range of polycarbonate resins are possible and in fact many hundreds have been prepared. 

Aliphatic polycarbonates have few characteristics which make them potentially valuable materials but study of various aromatic polycarbonates is instructive even if not of immediate commercial significance. Although bisphenol A polycarbonates still show the best all-round properties other carbonic ester polymers have been prepared which are outstandingly good in one or two specific properties. For example, some materials have better heat resistance, some have better resistance to hydrolysis, some have greater solvent resistance whilst others are less permeable to gases. 

Thus where R and Rjp are hydrogen the molecule is symmetrical, the absence of bulky side groups leads to high intermolecular attraction and the flexibility of 

Introduction of aromatic or cycloaliphatic groups at R and/or Rj gives further restriction to chain flexibility and the resulting polymers have transition temperatures markedly higher than that of the bis-phenol A polycarbonate. 

The melting ranges and glass transition temperatures of a number of polycarbonates from di-(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane derivatives are given in Table 20.10. 

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