SYNTHESIS AND PRELIMINARY PROPERTIES OF A WATER-REPELLENT POLY(ARYLENE ETHER)

The objective of this work was to develop a kind of new polymer with high hydrophobicities and good thermal stabilities. The introduction of fluorine into poly (arylene ether) is regarded as an effective way. A partially fluorinated poly (arylene ether) containing fluorenyl groups was successfully synthesized by aromatic nucleophilic substituting polycondensation from bisphenols and decafluorobiphenyl at 120 degrees C, and the structure of the polymer was characterized by H-1-NMR. Number-average molecular weight characterized by GPC was 4.63 x 10(4) Da. The DSC and TGA measurements of the polymer were performed under a nitrogen atmosphere, and the results showed that the polymer exhibited good thermal stabilities with high T-g of 271 degrees C and 5 % mass loss at 420 degrees C. Moreover, the polymer was very soluble in common organic solvents, such as CH2Cl2, CHCl3, dimethyl sulfoxide, N, N'-dimethylacetamide, and could be readily cast into tough and smooth films from solutions. The films also showed high contact angles of water. Contact angle of the film cast by CHCl3 is 102 degrees. Contact angle of the film cast by THF is 107 degrees, which is close to that of Teflon (112 degrees), indicating that the polymer has high hydrophobicities. The polymer synthesized may have a promising prospect in microelectronic devices, such as the substrate for printed boards, and insulating materials as interlayer dielectrics and intermetal dielectrics.