Publication Date
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Eric Fossum (Advisor), Daniel Ketcha (Committee Member), Kenneth Turnbull (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Poly(aryl ether ketone)s (PAEK) are high performance thermoplastics, which are chemically robust, semi-crystalline, and stable at high temperatures. Of the family of PAEKs, poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) is a well-known semi-crystalline thermoplastic widely used for electronics, energy, industrial, and medical applications due to its resistance to solvents, radiation, heat, and other environmental factors. The traditional PEEK is prepared from 4,4’-difluorobenzophenone (2) and disodium hydroquinone. However, a challenge is processability, since due to its highly crystalline nature, PEEK possesses very limited solubility. An approach to solve these issues is to pre-functionalize PEEK polymers synthesized by nucleophilic aromatic substitution from 3,5-difluorobenzophenone (1) and hydroquinone, which results in a pendant benzoyl group. By using varying ratios of 3,5-difluorobenzophenone (1) and 4,4’-difluorobenzophenone (2) the degree of crystallinity in the polymer can be tailored. Herein, a series of semi-crystalline PEEK analogues bearing functional groups on the pendant benzoyl moiety, were synthesized and characterized in order to investigate the effects of structural variances on the thermal and solubility behavior.
Page Count
85
Department or Program
Department of Chemistry
Year Degree Awarded
2017
Copyright
Copyright 2017, all rights reserved. My ETD will be available under the "Fair Use" terms of copyright law.
