Study on the synthesis of soluble copolymer polyarylate from asymmetric bisphenol A derivative (2,2‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)butane/9,9‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)fluorene) monomer

Abstract A series of polyarylates composed of different bisphenol monomers were synthesized by interfacial polymerization using 9,9‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)fluorene (BHPF), 2,2‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)butane (BPB), terephthaloyl chloride (TPC), and isophthaloyl chloride (IPC) as raw materials. The DFT calculations showed that the energy required for the reaction of BHPF with TPC/IPC was between 15.82 and 16.04 Kcal/mol, which was higher than the energy required for the reaction of BPB with TPC/IPC of 8.05–8.40 Kcal/mol. The solubility test showed that the solubility of BHPF‐BPB‐type polyarylate was better than that of BPB‐type polyarylate in various organic solvents with T g ranging from 199.3 to 215.0°C, indicating that the solubility was improved while increasing the T g of the products. The weight loss ( T 5% ) and maximum weight loss ( T max ) of BHPF‐BPB‐type polyarylates under N 2 atmosphere ranged from 464.6–489.4°C and 521.7–534.6°C, indicating good thermal stability. The tensile strength of the BHPF‐BPB‐type polyarylates ranged from 53.21 to 61.23 MPa, Young's modulus ranged from 1479.66 to 1867.23 MPa and elongation at break ranged from 19.5% to 30.1%. The mechanical property test showed that the BHPF‐BPB‐type polyarylates have high tensile strength. These characteristics indicate that BHPF‐BPB‐type polyarylates have a very broad potential for application in engineering plastics.