N,N-Dialkyl-3,5-difluorobenzenesulfonamides as a tool for tailoring the glass transition temperatures of poly(arylene ether)s

The use of the N,N-dialkylsulfonamide group as a tool for tailoring the glass transition temperature of poly(arylene ether)s was investigated. A series of N,N-dialkyl-3,5-difluorobenzenesulfonamides, in which the alkyl groups were varied from n-propyl to n-octyl, were prepared and converted to polymer form by meta activated nucleophilic aromatic substitution polycondensation reactions with bisphenol A. The polymers were fully characterized via size exclusion chromatography, NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The resulting sulfonamide-based poly(arylene ether)s displayed moderate thermal stability with the onset of weight loss ranging from 369 to 410 A degrees C. All of the materials were completely amorphous and the glass transition temperatures covered the range from 19 to 155 A degrees C.