Synthesis, characterization, and properties of poly (arylene ether nitrile) with high crystallinity and high molecular weight

Crystalline poly (arylene ether nitrile) (PEN) has superior performance such as solvent resistance, excellent mechanical properties, heat resistance, and so on. However, it is of great difficulty to obtain crystalline PEN with high molecular weight. In this work, a series of crystalline copolymers named HQ/BPA-PEN were synthesized from hydroquinone, bisphenol A and 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile through nucleophilic substitution polycondensation mechanism, and properies can be adjusted by changing the mole ratios of bisphenol A and hydroquinone. All the HQ/BPA-PEN copolymers show the excellent thermal properties (T-g > 180 degrees C,T-d5%>480 degrees C) and superior mechanical properties (tensile strength>100 MPa). Among them, HQ/BPA-PEN85 copolymer (molar ratio of HQ/BPA was 85:15) obtained high T-g 188.75 degrees C, intrinsic viscosity 2.61, tensile strength 134.18 MPa and crystallinity of 43.71%. Therefore, this crystalline HQ/BPA-PEN has potential applications in the fields of high temperature resistant materials and electronic materials.