SOLUBILITY CHARACTERISTICS OF POLY(ETHERETHERKETONE) AND POLY(PHENYLENE SULFIDE)

The crystalline high-performance polymers poly (etheretherketone) (PEEK) and poly (phenylene sulfide) (PPS) are generally considered to be highly resistant to dissolution in most common solvents. This article reveals numerous compounds that dissolve in excess of 25 wt % of each polymer at elevated temperatures. Typical binary-phase diagrams depicting the minimum solubility temperature vs. concentration are also presented for several representative polymer-solvent mixtures for both PEEK and PPS. The phenomenon of the solvent-induced crystallization of PEEK is presented. The importance of these polymer-solvent systems for the preparation of permselective membranes is discussed.