Preparation and characterization of high molecular weight poly(hydroxy ethers) with unusually high glass transition temperatures

Abstract A series of novel poly(hydroxy ethers) have been prepared via polymerization of the diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol‐A ( 4 ), 4,4 ′‐tribromotetramethylbiphenol ( 6a ), and 4,4 ′‐tetrabromotetramethylbiphenol ( 6b ) with a variety of rigid diols in an effort to systematically modify structural features of the phenoxy repeat unit in order to control the torsional mobility of polymer backbones and produce materials with softening temperatures higher than are typical for the class. The resulting poly(hydroxy ethers) displyed glass transition temperatures ranging from 109 to 242°C. There of the polymers were characterized with respect to tensile and impact properties and were compared to the polymer sythesized from bisphenol‐A ( 1 ) and bisphenol‐A diglycidyl ether ( 4 ).